Nick The Eraser: The Angel Experiment
by Theanimedude
Summary: Nick is an eraser who's never had a friend. Up until he meets her... Follows the storyline of the Angel Exeriment.
1. Chapter 1

Nick the Eraser

Chapter 1

My whole life I've known I was different. I watched tv shows with the other guys like me, all wolfy and such, but was never interested in any of the battles. They all looked like adults by the time I was seven, but I still looked like a little kid. Because of that, I was constantly observed with high interest, needles poking me, hurting me. Every so often I'd catch words like "lifespan" or "interesting" or "brain cropping." I didn't want my brain taken out, so yelled at them "NO!"

My brain never left my head, thankfully. I lived life like all the other erasers, and I thought "this is how things are going to be- forever." It all looked so bleak. I had to kill chimpanzees and eat them live if I was hungry, listening to their screams of terror. If I was thirsty, I had to stand under a pipe and let it drop into my mouth. The TV was the best I had, and all the bigger guys hogged it. But everything changed the first time I saw THEM.

I was about eight, and I was wandering around the school, with my wings stretched out comfortably. I found a door that I'd never seen before. I opened it- and gasped. There were six kids and a guy in a white coat, just playing. They all had wings, and there was plenty of space to fly. I walked in in complete wonder, and one of the kids swooped down to me. She was a little girl with brown hair, with golden streaks running through it, about my age.

"Hey!" she shouted, trying to look tough, but sounding a little scared. "What are you doing here? You aren't allowed in here! Daddy, you promised!" her head turned to the man with the white coat as she said this. "No erasers!"

The man with the white coat turned to the girl and said "I'm sorry, Max. He shouldn't be here." He was holding a little baby in his arms, with blond hair falling close to her shoulders. The four other kids looked at me. Two others looked about my age, one was, like, five, and the other was a toddler. The two others that looked my age had black and blond hair. The blond one was looking in my general direction with curiosity. His eyes were aimed just beside my head, and I concluded that he couldn't see me. What was he, blind or something?

The other one my age had fierce, brown eyes, glaring at me intensely. Like he hated my guts before he even met me. I tried glaring back, but my eyes probably looked hurt.

The toddler was a little blond boy, his head cocked to one side with interest. He looked really adorable like that, and "I couldn't help but grin at him. He sort of backed away, scared.

Then the last one, she was the only black one. She smiled slightly at me, as though she knew I'd kind of stumbled in on accident.

The man with the white coat looked at me and said, "Nick, these kids were promised that an eraser would not come into this room. And you ARE an eraser. You should probably leave."

"But I won't hurt them," I said honestly. "I just want to meet them."

The man with the white coat glared at me. "Nick, I know you won't hurt them. But as long as they say so, erasers aren't coming in here. Go. Now."

My eyes got watery, and I turned to leave. "Fine," I choked out. "It's not like it'd be any different if I actually had some friends!"

The white-coated man looked at me with sadness, and said "Nick. I can be your friend. We all are your friends. Just not these kids."

"Tell that to the guys," I snapped at him. "They'd rather kill off all of you before he became friends with me."

I tore out, tears cascading down my face like rivers. Nobody had ever been my friend. Nobody ever would be. Eventually, I slumped down next to a wall in the halls, crying softly. I sat there a little bit, but then I heard hurried footsteps. My head snapped up, and I saw the bird girl that had talked to me earlier. Max or something.

She looked down at me, and said, "I can't imagine not having friends. I'm sorry I yelled at you."

That had been the nicest thing I'd heard in my whole life. I wanted to say something, but I felt frozen. It took me a couple seconds to realize she was probably baiting me. Eventually I stood up and said, "I'm sorry I invaded your privacy. Now go back to your daddy." I kept as little spite in my voice as possible. She probably hated me, just like everybody else.

She looked at me, a little bit sadly, and said, "I don't hate you or anything. I kind of wish… never mind. Bye."

She turned to leave, but I grabbed her arm. She gasped, and then stared at me, with a mix of anger and fear. "My name's Nick," I whispered. I hesitated before asking, "Are you my friend?"

She looked at me, my little bits of white fur, my icy white hair, my blue eyes. She smiled and said "Yup. I'm Max." And with that, she was hugging me, and I stiffened. Nobody ever held me unless they were going to throw me. But she felt… warm. I liked the feel of her arms. She was my friend. My first ever. I loved it. She let go of me, and grinned as toothy smile. "See ya later!" she said, almost happy sounding.

/Then, I turned around, that warm feeling inside of me, and walked towards my room. But then, five erasers were suddenly in my way. "Hey, little freak," one said, sneering meanly. "Wanna play?"

I was so angry right then. These guys had ruined a moment I'd intended to treasure for the rest of my life. I snapped, and a strength surged through me, unlike any I'd ever felt. Within seconds these guys had dropped, rolling and moaning on the floor.

I had somebody to fight for. Never again would I be kicked around by erasers.

I was Nick Tundra, the super eraser. And I had only just begun.


	2. Chapter 2

Nick The eraser

Chapter 2

I floated for the rest of the day. I ran laps around the school halls, knocking anyone that got in my way out. Erasers, white coats, whoever. I just felt so powerful for the first time in my life- all thanks to Max. I ran lap after lap, until I actually started to get tired. I went into my little four by four foot room, about five feet tall, and collapsed onto my soft pillows. I grinned as I did so. I picked up the little fox stuffed animal I always kept in my bed.

"I got a friend today, Sparky," I whispered with excitement. "And she's really nice! She's not even an eraser!" He stared back at me, a smile permanently pasted to his face, his unmoving black eyes staring at me.

I knew I was a little old for stuffed animals… but I had no friends up until now. It was almost fun to pretend Sparky was alive, running around with me. But now I had a real friend. Sparky always understood, no matter what. I didn't want to throw him away. I clutched him to my chest, only then realizing I was exhausted.

Things changed again in the morning. It was probably the worst day of my life. I went up to Max's room, hoping to see her again.

I knocked and said "Hello! Max?" Silence. I opened the door myself- and nobody was there. I looked around- nobody was flying, the white-coated man didn't have the baby in his arms, and wasn't there, for that matter. I figured they were probably somewhere around the school.

I walked out- and an alarm started. The whole place filled with a red light and a horrible EEEEEEEEEEE noise. I clenched my extra-sensitive ears with my hands, hating the sound, closing my eyes, hating the red light. Whitecoats suddenly were storming into the hallway I was in, and I felt myself be lifted by my shirt.

"Where are they?" he asked me. "Why are you here?"

I didn't like his aggression, but I realized "they" probably met Max and her friends.

"I don't know!" I yelled above the siren. "I just wanted to see Max!"

Somebody had turned off the awful alarm, and the whitecoats were mumbling amongst each other.

"Max," the whitecoat holding me said. "That's what Batchelder called one of the bird kids. If you're looking for her, she's gone. Batchelder took them this morning."

I didn't believe him.

"No," I whispered. I was only eight, but I was stronger than a full-grown eraser when I morphed. I made myself fully wolf form and picked him up by his neck growling, "Where. Is. She." It sounded more like a demand than a question.

The guy looked at me with surprise and slight masked fear and said, "That's the truth, kid."

I glared at him. "Nick," I snarled.

He looked down at me, even though I had his life pulsing between my clawed fingers. "Nick? Erasers don't have names… they can't even talk right."

"I named myself," I said, growing impatient, closing my hand tighter for effect. "Where is she?"

"I've already told you!" he looked too panicked to lie, and I realized he was probably telling the truth. I let him go, my hands shaking. I demorphed slowly, feeling myself edge towards tears.

"No," I whispered. She had been lying. Just like everybody else. She knew she was leaving this place. She'd left me.

From then on, I was heartless. I found no joy in killing, but did it constantly. Erasers dropped in numbers because of my constant sadistic outbreaks. The only emotions I had were irritation, or calmness. If I was calm, everything was fine. If I was irritated, I killed the source.

When I sparred, I killed so I wouldn't be killed. I was powerful, more so than any of the erasers. I easily took down five or nine at a time when calm, and when irritated took down ten through fifteen at a time. At one point, when I was ten, doing this constantly, I was pulled aside by a whitecoat.

"Why?" he asked. "Why is it that you fight so hard?"

I stared at him grimly, considering my response. "For myself," I finally answered. "There's nobody to fight for here- except for myself. I hate everyone but myself. So I'm willing to kill anybody- for myself."

And with that, I picked up a piece of an eraser's arm, and bit through it. I didn't care about the fur I was eating through.

I didn't care that the meat was raw, and probably unhealthy. I wasn't allowed to eat anything else, and I was surrounded by lifeless protein. I'm sure that two years before then I would have thought it was disgusting. But life was disgusting. I didn't care.

I never cried. Not since the day Max left. Not once. Crying was for wimps. I was stronger than anybody in the world- I shouldn't have cried, anyway.

Life continued like this until I was fourteen. That was when I got assigned to a small group of erasers for some big mission. The group was led by a stronger than average eraser named Ari.

"Our mission," he said, a nasty glint in his eyes, "is to track down a group of hybrids and bring them back here. They are led by this girl-" a picture popped up on the screen behind him. "Maximum Ride." The picture made me gasp. There she was- Max. She was my age now, flying with a huge grin plastered to her face.

A growl made its way from my throat, and my eyes morphed to yellow wolf eyes immediately. Ari noticed and said, "Oh, so you've got a bone to pick with Max too, eh? Looks like you got put in the right place."

I nodded. Thoughts clouded my brain. I was so mad. She was still alive, and she probably didn't remember me anymore. But some part of me wondered if she did. Maybe she would… No. Never. She was just like everybody else in the world. She couldn't care less for me.

Bringing here her was my assignment. But I intended to kill her.


	3. Chapter 3

Nick the Eraser

Chapter 3

Here we were. We had cornered the bird kids at a cave next to a nest where a flock of hawks resided. Ari and his nine buddies had climbed a sheer mountain face, while I'd just flown up to it, hovering not far away. We were ten erasers and one super eraser, hungry for vengeance. They were five bird kids, coming out of a relaxed state, a little drowsy. I noticed that there were only five of them. When I asked Ari why, he had said that he had gotten the littlest one a few days ago and brought her to the school. They glared at us, all combat-ready. Good. If I didn't kill them when they went full force, it wouldn't be as satisfying.

Ari was grinning evilly at the bird kids, laughing. "Finally found you, piggys," he crowed.

_Piggys? _I thought to myself.

"Get them!" Ari bellowed, not wasting any more time. Nine erasers ran toward them, snarling ferociously. I had seen the way these guys fought too many times to not know what they were planning. When they went all out, they aimed for the throats. The bird kids seemed to know as well, dodging and retaliating expertly.

Within minutes, all our men had fallen, other than Ari and me. He stared at the bird kids, hatred burning in his eyes.

"I don't care if I was supposed to bring you guys to the school," he growled. "I'm killing you here!

That didn't fit into my plan at all. As he charged towards the bird kids, I flew over their heads, dropping down and landing just in front of Ari. He actually bounced off of me. "What the-" he yelped out.

"You take the others," I said quietly. Over the years, my voice had become cold and calm, no matter the situation. (Ever heard of Sephiroth? Look him up. That's what I sound like, only my voice is a tint higher.) "Max is mine."

He looked at me with utter disbelief, eyes wide. Then his eyes narrowed.

"I give the orders here," he snarled. "And I've wanted Max gone for four years. So I'm killing her!"

"I've wanted her gone longer," I pressed on, irritated. "For six years. She's mine."

"No! she's mine!" Ari growled, sweeping his left hand horizontally through the air in front of him.

I was irritated. Ari was going to die then if he didn't shut up. I began to morph, as did he. The familiar routine- hands going shaggy with icy white fur, nails elongating into wicked claws, the fur covering the rest of my body, my muzzle elongating, my ocean blue eyes turning a sadistic yellow. He went the same way, only he, like all the other erasers, had brown fur.

He charged me, his clawed hands at the ready. He jumped about five feet from me, and swung his foot horizontally in a wide arc, spinning once in the air before aiming for the side of my head. I snapped my right fist up, hitting his calf, knocking him off balance, and hearing a bone break. He grimaced as he fell to the ground on his back, with me standing over him.

"Ari," I began gravely. "Don't make me kill you."

He glared up at me, his eyes glimmering with hate, towards me and probably Max. He suddenly snapped up, his fist forward with his ascent. I redirected his fist inwardly, and kicked him in the side. He yelped as he fell again, and I glared down at him.

"Killing you wouldn't be hard for me, Ari," I whispered. "Killing Max has been the reason I agreed to come on this mission- but if somebody else does it, it loses its significance. I'm giving you a chance here, Ari. Go back. I'll be there once I've killed these guys."

Ari looked at me with rage, fear, and hatred from his lying down position on the rocky mountain ground. He slowly rose himself up and turned away from me.

"Fine," he growled out. He turned and began to walk away. I turned to face the bird kids, but then I heard him roar behind me. I spun and snapped a kick to his face, which was a foot away from my neck, and he fell, writhing in pain. I glared down at him.

"Fool," I said. "I gave you a chance. Now I'll make sure you never get another." I scooped him into my arms so that my arms were across his chest, trapping his arms against his sides. He protested my grip, but I held like steel. I flew up and away from the canyon, up, up, up, past the clouds. Then I flew straight downwards, and upon becoming about fifty yards above the ground, I threw him down, screeching my descent to a halt. He screamed the whole way down, mortification written all over his wolf face. I didn't watch him land, but I heard trees tumbling and a loud **THUMP**.

I was almost certain he was dead. But if he wasn't, he'd be out of my way for a little while. And I only needed a little while to take these jokers down.

As I demorphed, I turned to face the freaks before me, all glaring at me, the two youngest making a loud gulping sound. I would kill all of them, first the others then Max, but I wanted to make sure they knew why, to make sure Max died drowning in a sea of regret. She might not have remorse, but she'd regret crossing me as she watched her comrades fall. The thought of the look of terror contorting her beautiful face made me want to lick my lips.

Wait- beautiful face? I paused to look at her; and I realized she was really… nice looking. Even with her hair and clothes torn up and stained blood red, she coulda been a model.

I was broken out of my admiration when I heard her shout "So? Are you coming at us or what?"

I glowered at her. Killing her would be easy. But I wanted her to feel pain before she went down. "Yes, Max," I whispered gravely, loud enough for all the freaks to hear. "You're finally mine."

"Excuse me," Max said acidly, "But I don't really need any romance in my life right now, thanks for the offer."

When she said so, the guy with black hair and brown eyes blushed- but it was gone in a flash. I smiled, slightly amused. Then I let a chuckle pass through my lips.

"Romance?" I asked her. "No thanks. There's probably someone else anyway. I can just see the face of the guy when I kill you- you'd writhe on the ground, begging me to stop, and he'd be helpless to stop me-"

With that, the black-haired one had leapt towards me, practically roaring with anger.

"Fang, wait!" Max cried out.

But he was already right in front of me, launching blow after blow, missing every time. I bobbed and weaved, backing up when I needed to. Within seconds, though he hadn't landed a single blow, he had pushed me to the edge of the cliff. I jumped backwards- and started falling. I spread my wings just above the forest, instantly achieving my maximum speed. It took less than three seconds for me to fly back up, get behind him, and snap a kick to his back. He fell forward, grunting and swearing.

"So you're the first candidate, hm?" I chuckled. "To be honest, Max, I'd hoped your little team would be better."

"Shut up!" the one called Fang shouted, trying to sweep my legs out from under me. I jumped with perfect timing, landing with a hard stomp to his stomach. I felt his breath leave him as he gasped with pain, and I grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up above the ground. He struggled against my clawed hand, his eyes rolling into his head. I was about to throw him off the cliff- but then the blind one rammed me in the back, his arms crossed over his head.

I began to fall again. But then I dropped Fang and flew back upward.

I sized up the situation. With Fang down, I had the blind kid, a little blond boy, the black girl, and Max to deal with. I was surrounded by the four of them, and they were closing in slowly. Suddenly the little blond boy picked up speed and hurtled towards me. I ascended just a tad, and then flipped forward, bringing my foot down to his back, right between the wings. He yelped with surprise and pain, tucking his wings in and plummeting downward.

"Gazzy!" Max shouted. "Fly! You have to fly!"

The boy struggled, and his wings stretched out- just as I rammed into his stomach full force, my fists held firmly against him as his body collided against the side of the mountain face.

He let out a startled shriek of pain, and then collapsed into the cave wall in a Gazzy-shaped hole.

"No!" Max shouted, terror crossing her face. The look was perfect for her. I put one hand against Gazzys chest, feeling his heartbeat. Max was going to feel pain, horrible pain, ripping through her soul. And I'd start by killing the ones she loved. Just as I was about to sink my claw straight through his heart, I heard an unfamiliar beeping sound.

I turned- too late- and three small explosions went off right in front of me, searing my fur and singing my skin, while filling my eyes with dust and smoke. I recoiled, only slightly, and flew upward, out of the smoke, rubbing my teary eyes to clear them. I opened them once they were clear- just in time for a black sneaker to collide with my head. That one hurt. I fell backward through the air and saw the culprit- Fang!

"Didn't I just kill you?" I asked calmly. That was my mistake. Turning my attention to Fang made me vulnerable enough for Max to fly in, the same way I had with Gazzy, and tackle me against the mountain wall above their cave. I was stuck, unable to move, with four enemies active with murderous intent. I had failed the mission.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked, confidence draining out of me. "Kill me!"

Max stared at me in shock, tears suspended on her cheeks. "I failed," I said, slightly quieter. "I've wanted to kill you ever since that day… but I failed. Just kill me." Tears slowly made their way down my face as I demorphed, back into mostly human (except for the wings).

Max stared at me, a look of confusion. "What day?" she asked. I looked into her eyes, and said, "So you really don't remember me?"

She glared at me. "No, not even in my most horrible nightmares have I met someone so heartless."

"No more heartless than you, Max," I said coldly.

She looked at me, shocked once more. She dropped me, and I fell on my knees down to the ground next to the cave.

Fang, Max and the black kid flew down beside me, standing a few feet away. A few seconds later, the blind kid flew up beside them with Gazzy in his arms, still unconscious.

"You better start talking," Max said. "What do you know about me? Why would you call me heartless? And why have you wanted to kill me since "that day?"

I looked up at them from my place on the ground, and said "Fine. I'll tell you."

_Flashback_

_I was about eight, and I was wandering around the school, with my wings stretched out comfortably. I found a door that I'd never seen before. I opened it- and gasped. There were six kids and a guy in a white coat, just playing. They all had wings, and there was plenty of space to fly. I walked in in complete wonder, and one of the kids swooped down to me. She was a little girl with brown hair, with golden streaks running through it, about my age. _

"_Hey!" she shouted, trying to look tough, but sounding a little scared. "What are you doing here? You aren't allowed in here! Daddy, you promised!" her head turned to the man with the white coat as she said this. "No erasers!" _

_The man with the white coat turned to the girl and said "I'm sorry, Max. He shouldn't be here." _

_The man with the white coat looked at me and said, "Nick, these kids were promised that an eraser would not come into this room. And you ARE an eraser. You should probably leave."_

"_But I won't hurt them," I said honestly. "I just want to meet them."_

_The man with the white coat glared at me. "Nick, I know you won't hurt them. But as long as they say so, erasers aren't coming in here. Go. Now."_

_My eyes got watery, and I turned to leave. "Fine," I choked out. "It's not like it'd be any different if I actually had some friends!"_

_I tore out, tears cascading down my face like rivers. Nobody had ever been my friend. Nobody ever would be. Eventually, I slumped down next to a wall in the halls, crying softly. I sat there a little bit, but then I heard hurried footsteps. My head snapped up, and I saw the bird girl that had talked to me earlier. Max or something._

_She looked down at me, and said, "I can't imagine not having friends. I'm sorry I yelled at you."_

_Eventually I stood up and said, "I'm sorry I invaded your privacy. Now go back to your daddy." I kept as little spite in my voice as possible. She probably hated me, just like everybody else._

_She looked at me, a little bit sadly, and said, "I don't hate you or anything. I kind of wish… never mind. Bye."_

_She turned to leave, but I grabbed her arm. She gasped, and then stared at me, with a mix of anger and fear. "My name's Nick," I whispered. I hesitated before asking, "Are you my friend?"_

_She looked at me, my little bits of white fur, my icy white hair, my blue eyes. She smiled and said "Yup. I'm Max." And with that, she was hugging me, and I stiffened. She let go of me, and grinned as toothy smile. "See ya later!" she said, almost happy sounding._

_Things changed again in the morning. I went up to Max's room, hoping to see her again. _

_I knocked and said "Hello! Max?" Silence. I opened the door myself- and nobody was there. I figured they were probably somewhere around the school._

_I walked out- and Whitecoats suddenly were storming into the hallway I was in, and I felt myself be lifted by my shirt._

"_Where are they?" he asked me. "Why are you here?" _

"_I don't know!" I yelled. "I just wanted to see Max!" _

"_Max," the whitecoat holding me said. "That's what Batchelder called one of the bird kids. If you're looking for her, she's gone. Batchelder took them this morning."_

_I didn't believe him. "No," I whispered._

End Flashback

"So that's it," I said, anger slowly seeping back into me. "You made me think you cared about me. But you never did. Nobody ever did. You baited me right back into the endless pain, hitting me with in tenfold. To think I had something but know I never did… it was so much worse than never having it."

The bird kids stared at me, stunned, and then at Max. I expected her to smirk, then kill me, but what I saw I didn't expect to see in a million years.

She was cryng, her eyes squeezed shut, tight as a vice. "I remember," she choked out. "That day… I had no idea we were leaving. When we did, I was so glad to leave that I forgot… Nick… I'm so sorry."

I looked at her, and the sincerity dripping off her words made me realize: she was telling the truth. She had meant it all those years ago, when she said she was my friend. And she was apologizing. She wasn't heartless. And I couldn't blame her for wanting to forget the school.

I reached out and took her arm, so very gently, and she looked into my eyes, hers going red from crying.

"Just one question," I said, after I was sure I had her attention. She nodded solemnly, tears still cascading down her cheeks.

_Are you my friend?_


	4. Chapter 4

Nick the Eraser

a.n. Now before I start this chapter, I'd like to tell those few readers that I have that Nick is the pinnacle of naiveté. He understands almost nothing. Just a fair warning. (flames are used, from here on out, to burn down my school. So, if I get o flames, I can't burn my school, but I'll be sad to get flames. Just know your negative words are contributing to a greater cause.)

Chapter four

She looked at me, my icy white hair, my ocean blue eyes. She looked at her friends, looking for approval. All she got were faces lost in thought. She looked back to me.

"We should talk," she whispered.

I nodded, and stood to follow her as she walked into the cave, where we'd have privacy. Once we were settled, she said, "They'll kill you."

"What?" I said, alarmed.

"If you go back to the school…" she started. "They'll kill you. You've betrayed them by killing Ari. You'd be dangerous for them to have around." Her words held no emotion, no sympathy. She was simply stating facts. Her face, however, still had tears streaming down it. I nodded grimly, feeling lost. The school was a horrible home- but it was the only one I had. I'd lost it when I'd taken Ari out.

"But," Max said, still teary eyed. "I wish you'd taken your emotions out on me, the flock was innocent."

I felt horrible. "The flock…" I whispered. "They're your friends. I hurt your friends… I'm sorry."

"They're the ones you should apologize to," she said. "I've forgiven you. You'll have to owe them, though. Make it up to them while we're on the move."

"You mean…" I whispered. "You're my friend?"

She seemed hesitant, but she nodded. I was overwhelmed. I hugged her tightly, and I heard her gasp. I cried over her, my tears sinking into my hand that was wrapped around her.

"Thank you," I choked out. "I couldn't keep going if you…"

She under stood, stroking my hair where it touched my shoulders, and I knew then. I needed her. She didn't need me at all. So I'd have to make sure to earn my keep.

2 minutes later, inside the cave third person

Nick walked out of the cave, and Max's "flock" walked in. Silence filled, the cave, and everybody was staring at Max with anticipation.

"So… what's the sitch?" Iggy asked Max, breaking the silence.

Max sighed, before answering "Nick's going to come with us. We'll be on our way to the school, and he'll help us get Angel out."

The silence returned. Fang gave her a hard glare, and asked "Why? Why are you letting him stay with us?'

Max shook her head, and said "I… wronged him immensely. I hurt him so much. When he was fighting you guys… he was trying to make me suffer. He thought I had meant to hurt him."

"Bull," Fang snapped. "You're just taking pity on him because you don't want to let the school kill him- oh that's another thing. Why not just let him die?"

"Yeah, he was horrible!" Nudge broke in. "He could've killed Gazzy if Iggy hadn't bombed him!"

Iggy nodded with disgust, saying "I don't want that creep anywhere near us. Besides, he's just another eraser."

Max looked abashed. "He doesn't deserve to die!" she shouted. "He did all that because he thought I had hurt him. If I had died of a disease of some sort, but you thought it had been him, you would've done the same! He's… not… innocent, but he's really sorry for what he did. He told me. And he wasn't born heartless. He's sane."

The flock stared at her, unconvinced, but wavering. Max took in a breath. "He needs me, just like we need each other. I can't take the only friend he has- me- away from him."

Fang shook his head. "Sane like Ari. Listen to yourself, Max. You're so soft. You won't let us get away with anything, but now you can't take that cretins "only friend" away from him." He pointed to Gazzy, arms and legs bloody, still out cold. They'd bandaged him in his sleep. Ne then pointed to his own neck. Nick's claws had sunk in slightly, breaking skin, leaving ragged holes in his neck.

"And you'd forgive him," Fang whispered. "Like he'd done nothing."

Max shook her head. "You guys didn't deserve that. But he meant to hurt me in doing that. He seemed heartless… but that was only because he wanted to hurt me."

"And you'd forgive him for that?" Fang asked, glaring at Max.

"Yes!" Max cried out. "He wanted to hurt me because I hurt him!"

The flock sat quietly, Nudge fidgeting, Iggy looking away, Fang and Max glaring into each other's eyes.

"Fine," Fang growled. "But he owes us. Big time."

Nick POV

In the morning, we'd be going straight back to the school to get the flocks littlest member out of there. I decided that night that I'd take first watch. But I was used to going to sleep earlier, so I felt like drifting off pretty early. But I had to stay awake. That was how I'd earn my keep for the night.

Around nine, Max walked out of the cave. I turned to face her, leaving my face passive and emotionless. She seemed unnerved, so I smiled sheepishly, trying to let her know I was alright. "Are you tired?" she asked me.

"No," I said, a little too quickly. I hid a yawn in my throat, and shook my head. "Maybe a little," I whispered shamefully.

She stared at me, and I felt bad for lying to her. "Ya' know," she said quietly. "If you're too tired in the morning, you might not get very far on the way to the school. We don't want to rest too early…"

"My watch isn't over," I responded determinedly. "I owe at least this much to you. For a start." I paused, realizing what she was suggesting.

"I won't hold you back," I said quietly.

Max nodded. "As long as you're certain."

I sat there a couple seconds, in a somewhat awkward silence. "If… if I want to be your friend, I have to be theirs," I said.

Max looked down at me. "I didn't get off to a good start. Are they awake?" I asked, turning to face her. She shook her head no. I looked down at the ground. "I… heard you," I whispered guiltily, staring downward with shame. She looked at me, her eyes narrowing slightly. I was already screwing up.

"I didn't mean to, but I did," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

She looked at me, smiling. "Your ears are sensitive, aren't they? You couldn't help it. We were pretty loud… and you're so honest. I forgive you."

As she said this, I heard muffled, angry mumbling and a couple rocks moving. She seemed not to notice. "Fang's up," I said.

Max shook her head. "Ugh, probably watching us. He doesn't trust you yet."

"Doesn't trust me?" I asked, dumbfounded. "He hates me. They all hate me. The only one I might have a chance with is that Angel kid."

Max's eyes glinted at the mention of her baby, and I realized she was getting a little teary. I looked at her face, feeling a little daring. I stood up slowly, and walked towards her. I wiped my finger across her cheek, taking a tear away.

"Don't cry Max," I whispered. "I'm sorry. You'll have her back soon."

She looked stunned. I really did care about her. I hugged her gently, my arms reaching around to stroke her back. I wanted her to know I cared.

_**But apparently I went too far.**_


	5. Chapter 5

Theanimedude: Hi, everyone. (Yes, I mean you three) I decided to try out one of those author talks to his character thingies… I shall fail.

Fang: You DO fail.

Theanimedude: Quiet, slave.

Fang: D: l Excuse me?

Theanimedude: Yes, all these characters are my slaves. Therefore, I own them! BWAHAHAHA!

Max: … Right. Anyways, we belong to James Patterson, not him.

Theanimedude: You're no fun.

Fang: I'm not his slave.

Nick: Yes you are.

Fang: What the- How am I his slave?

Theanimedude: Stop whining and make me a sammich!

Fang: I don't exist… I can't.

Theanimedude: YOU DARE BRING LOGIC TO MY LAIR? YOU MUST DIE!

Fang: (Dies) DX

Max: o.O

Theanimedude: That's over with… Oh yeah, I own Nick, but that's about it.

Nick: Why couldn't you own Max or something?

Max: D8(

Nick the Eraser

Chapter Five

The force to the side of my head made a starburst of pain rocket through it, and I fell to the ground, wincing.

"Fang!" Max shouted. "What was that for?" Fang glared down at me, standing over me with his foot propped against my side.

"I should ask you the same thing. What were you doing with him?" Fang accused, glaring fiercely. "Is this why you wanted to keep him around?"

"No!" Max shouted looking flabbergasted. Somehow I knew this was my fault. I put my hand on Fang's foot, easily pushing it off of me. He backed up, startled, and averted his glare to from Max to me. I stood up, holding my hands in the air in surrender.

"Max didn't do anything," I whispered. "It was my fault."

"See?" Fang shouted at Max. "This is why I didn't want him here. I turn around, and he's trying to rape you!"

Max's face paled. "R-rape me?" she said, startled. "No! That's not what he was doing at all!"

"Excuse me," I broke in. "What is 'rape?'"

"Shut up, dog boy," Fang ground out, glaring at me once more. "What did I just see, then?"

Max took in a shuddering breath, and said, "I was crying, and he-"

"He made you cry?" Fang shouted, turning to me, furious.

"Yeah…" I said shamefully. I brought up Angel, and she got upset. So I hugged her, trying to make her feel better-"

"Bull," Fang snapped. "Why would you want to make her feel better? It's not like she's your friend or anything."

"She is my friend," I whispered, trying not to get angry. Fang was Max's friend. If I hurt him, I'd be hurting Max.

Fang chuckled drily. "Yeah, right," he said. "Nobody wants you here. Max only wants you to be her slave, like the mindless, obedient, freak you are. You're worthless."

I clenched my fists. How many times had I heard that last line? And now Fang was just flat out lying. "Maybe I should leave then," I growled, letting the first hint of eraser fur spread onto my skin.

"Good riddance, dog freak," he growled back, matching my glare with his.

I turned and took a running take off, just as Max said "Nick! Wait!"

As long as I tried getting closer to Max, I'd only get further from her friends. I needed a break. Max might miss me… but I needed time to think. _I'll be back,_ I promised myself. _Just as soon as I get a good way to get on good grounds with the flock._

Third Person

Back at the cave

Max turned to look at Fang, tears back on her face for the third time that day."What. Was. That?" she screamed, glaring at him with force that would kill a herd of stampeding elephants.

Fang looked over to her, and said coldly, "You just don't get it, do you, Max? You can be such a moron some times." He kicked a rock off the cliff, saying "He was probably sent by the school to kill you or something. Gain your trust, lower your guard."

"Are you nuts?" Max shouted. "I've never seen you like that! That was the worst you've ever been, you know that? He cared about me. I cared about him. He was honest; he wanted to make sure he earned his keep. He was trying to comfort me. And you know what?" she finished her rant, glaring even harder at him. "Right now I'd trust him more than I'd trust you!"

With that, waterfalls falling from her eyes, she ran into the cave deeper than the rest of the flock, leaving a stunned Fang outside. He punched the wall, cursing himself. "Why did I do that?" he asked himself. "I'm not… jealous of him, am I?"

Nick POV

The next morning, I woke up in the tree next to a McDonalds I had found. I was hungry. But I hadn't the slightest bit of money, and there probably weren't any chimpanzees around…

Then I saw it. A bird, with black feathers, staring towards me, on a tree limb a few inches from mine. I leapt towards it, and put it in my mouth, crushing it in my teeth. It wasn't very… satisfying. But people eat birds all the time, right? But usually they cook them first…

I sighed, knowing I'd need to catch at least twenty more before I felt full. I jumped down from the tree and began to sniff the air. I was searching for a scent of food, any food. It didn't have to be top notch, hairy, bloody eraser ribs, anything would do. Sometimes I wonder if I'm deprived…

It took about two seconds for me to smell an incredible mix of meats… pig, wolf, anything possibly animal was in this scent. I ran toward it, and saw an old run down stand, with a bored looking guy behind it.

"Um, hello," I said, walking up to him. "What is that wonderful aroma?"

He looked at me strangely, and said, "Read the sign."

"I can't read," I said earnestly.

"Hot dogs," the guy said, seeming agitated.

"So there's dog in them?" I asked excitedly. He shrugged. "What do I have to do to get one?"

"Two dollars a dog, kid," he said.

"I don't have much money…" I said sheepishly.

"Tell you what, kid. Business is slow today, I'll sell a hot dog for a buck," he said, shaking his head. I took off, running through the streets, searching for at least twenty dollars. While I was running, this one guy got in my way. I tried to stop, but he rammed into me, staring at his watch.

"Dang it kid!" he cried, glaring at me. "Watch where you're going!"

"S-sorry," I whispered.

He grumbled as he walked past me, then about ten seconds he said, "Hey! Where's my wallet?" But I'd already taken off with it in hand, jogging straight past him. _He was a jerk anyway, _I thought, grinning. I ran to the hot dog stand and drew twenty dollars from the wallet, with hundreds to spare. The guy gave me a look of amazement, thanked me, and sent me on my merry way, scarfing down animal parts stuffed into six inch cylinders. (I'm sorry, it's what they are)

I came to a cliff eventually, and began to fantasize about just jumping off and flying as far away as possible, a deserted island, with Max. But as long as Fang hated me, I could never be Max's friend. Every time I'd try to get closer to her, he'd try to kill me. But I couldn't ignore Max my whole life… Argh, so frustrating…

When I was absent minded, I barely noticed a stick breaking behind me. I turned to see fifty erasers right in front of me.

"How thoughtful of you guys!" I said cheerily. "A nice little stress reliever!"

The erasers all went down pretty quickly and never got in a blow. I just continually kicked their butts, until there seemed to be none left. I began to muse over the cliff, staring out into the clouds once more. That was when I heard the last eraser roaring behind me…

The flock

Max's POV

WE walked through this little park, below a small cliff, not speaking. I was really ticked with Fang, he wasn't letting on that he had emotions, Nudge and Gazzy were trudging along, staring at the ground, and Iggy was the only sound we heard, constant sighing.

"Ig," I said abruptly after his eightieth sigh. "E. Nough."

"Well at least the old Max is back," Iggy whispered. I whirled around to punch him- and froze. Everyone turned to see what I was looking at. Nick was standing at the top of the cliff, just staring into the clouds. He hadn't seen us. I ran towards the cliff just and looked up at him, just in time to hear and see an eraser, screaming with fear, fall right past me. Nick looked down- had he not side stepped, the eraser would've nabbed him.

"Way to go moron!" he called down, laughing. "Betcha can't do it again!"

He caught sight of us, and his smile was replaced by an exasperated frown. He turned and flew off, leaving us at the bottom of the cliff.

"C' mon!" I said, flying up to follow him. Soon we were pretty high up, and we were flying next to each other.

"Stop following me!" Nick yelled, looking panicked.

"Why?" I asked him, shouting over the wind.

"I can't be with you right now!" he shouted, just as he dropped unceremoniously, gasping.

"Nick!" I shouted, just as I felt the tranquilizer dart hit my shoulder.


	6. Chapter 6

Theanimedude: How'd you like that cliffie there? Huh? Huh?

Nick: I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO ME!

Theanimedude: Relax, Nick. You won't die before Max does.

Nick: D8

Theanimedude: I still don't own Maximum Ride, just Nick. Oh, just a little side note here, I plan on ending this fanfiction when the real series ends, which, is like, in the next book, this month. Everything just fell apart there… WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME JP! And one last thing: when I say flames, I mean negative reviews. 

Please review

Nick the Eraser chapter 6

Max POV

I moaned as I woke up, my head aching like it'd been hit with a boulder. I sat up- and my head hit metal bars. (Ouch) I instantly became alert, looking around to see what was happening. The smell, it was chemically. That horrible smell I knew all too well. I was at the school, locked in a freaking dog crate.

"At least they gave you a big crate," a familiar voice said beside me. "I got a medium."

My head jolted to the left. There she was, my baby.

"Angel," I breathed. We reached our hands between the bars, touching each other's hands. Her tiny hands were black, as though dirt covered them entirely, and horrible bruises of all different shades lined her limbs.

"It's not your fault, Max," she whispered, her uncanny mind reading abilities showing her exactly what I was thinking.

I looked around, making out the images of Fang and Nudge, both also in cages.

"Where are Gazzy and Iggy?" Angel asked. I shrugged, thinking _They got away. Read my mind, okay? We don't want them knowing everything._

She nodded; tears slowly forming in her eyes. I began to remember what had happened slowly, remembering Nick's last words before he'd fallen.

_I can't be with you right now!_

I began to fret. Had he died from the fall? Or was he here like the rest of us? Or- worst of them all- had he been planning this all along. I shook my head, refusing to believe that. Had Angel been around when we'd been with him, we would've known exactly what was going through his head.

Angel looked at me curiously. "Who's Nick?" she asked, her voice cracking and raspy.

I looked to her, and said, "Later, sweetheart. Not right now."

Just then a door opened and powerful light streamed in, making me shield my eyes with my arm. Out walked the last person I wanted to see- Jeb Batchelder. Wasn't he dead? Why was he here? Then I realized- he'd never died. He was just one of them. Jeb was a whitecoat, always had been. But I trusted him. But then, I trusted Nick too, and he may've been the reason we wound up here.

Nick POV

"I'm the reason they wound up here," I said, growling ay myself. If only I'd flown further whem I'd left, they wouldn't be here right now. How I knew they were here… I just did. The feel of the air was much less warm without Max.

I wasn't in a cage. No, I wished I was in a cage. I f it were a cage, I'd have broken out of it easily. But instead I was surrounded by a huge cylinder of electricity, emitted from the floor below and the ceiling above me. The ceiling was high, high enough that I could barely jump with all my eraser strength and tap it, but I could hardly lift a finger without it hitting the walls of the cylinder- and when they did, white-hot pain jolted all through me, making me scream and vibrate when I pulled my finger back.

And the worst thing was- Max was here. If I was feeling this, what would she feel like? I gritted my teeth together, feeling helpless. I could live through this. But knowing Max probably was trying to live with it hurt so much

I had to get out, if only to save her before I died. But every little movement made me writhe in pain. I was certain my brain was fried the first few times I tried to get out, and I slowly lost hope. There simply was no way out of this. I swore, wanting to punch something, but knowing better than to try.

I stood there, waiting for what felt like an eternity, until I suddenly felt my arms and legs be grabbed. I struggled, but I couldn't even touch the electricity. The hands grabbing me were cold and metallic, restraining me completely. I struggled more, than felt my skin be pierced on the back of my neck. I shuddered as an unearthly liquid flowed into me though the orifice the needle had created. When it was finished, I was released- from the hands, at least. I was still inside the cylinder. Suddenly I heard a voice inside my head.

_Hello Nick._

_Umm, hi?_

_Is that a question?_

_Smart aleck- wait are you reading my mind?_

_I'm inside your mind, Nick._

_Who are you?_

_That isn't the issue. The issue is that you are stuck in an electrical holding device, and Max could be in danger._

_There's that too, I guess…_

_How are you going to get out? _

_You think I haven't tried?_

_You haven't taken the right route yet. Life may be a highway, but all the intersections don't lead to the same place._

_Ohhh, so now I have a fortune cookie inside my head, too. Perfect._

_You are capable of much, Nick. Your body will respond whenever you're near death, and give you exactly what you need to get out. So, what do you need to do?_

_I… need to get rid of this machine. _

_Right. How are you going to do that?_

_Here's one way to find out._

I thrust my hand into the electrical wall, screaming as the white hot pain entered my nervous system. I was in so much pain, I thought I might die. But I held on, until suddenly, my eyes blurred- I knew that I WAS dying.

But that was the idea.

As soon as I couldn't hold on any longer, my hand ABSORBED the electricity, and I felt it crackle around my arm. I then, as if knowing how to my whole life, thrust my hand upward, and the electricity left my hand in a lightning bolt, screeching in every direction, blasting apart everything, walls, computers, and most importantly- the machine, at the speed of light. The walls that had been broken revealed startled erasers, the flock  
>(in cages) and a lot of very surprised whitecoats. Then the game was on.<p>

I reached into a computer, and fresh, unguarded electricity flew into my hand. I started using my newfound skill to blast erasers, making them scream, have minimal seizures, then pass out. Was I Epic? I was Epic. I then backed away slowly, constantly grabbing new electricity sources, blasting things apart. I kicked open the cages the flock were held captive in, shouting "Get out of here, now!"

A very startled flock flew through a hole I'd created in the wall, (check hole, try massive crater) and escaped, leaving me to fight the whitecoats and erasers. It was like the Boston Massacre, only the erasers and whitecoats were being shot down, not the colonists.

I was so absorbed in it all that I didn't notice one whitecoat with a sniper rifle, and by the time I'd noticed, he'd already hit his mark- Fang. The shot went straight through both his wings, and he froze with pain. Problem: No flap, no fly. Max screamed something, probably his name, and as I watched him fall, I saw a littler form in his arms. _Angel, _I breathed. She was stuck in his arms as he fell, unconscious.

I swore, spread my wings, and flew out at my amazing speed, faster than any of the flock. I felt like my face was ripping off as I flew, desperate to save Max's friend and baby. I just barely caught him, about five hundred yards from the school, two feet from the ground. The girl squealed as I caught her, struggling to get out of my grip and Fang's. She suddenly froze, looking me in the eye.

"You're Nick," she whispered.

Surprised, I nodded. Suddenly, a huge helicopter was just behind us. She screamed, ducking her head into Fang's chest. I held Angel and Fang under one arm, raised my other- and fired. A huge lightning bolt flashed out of my hand, not only piercing the helicopter and splitting it in two, but ripping holes through clouds lined up behind it.

I shook my head, muttering, "Just when I thought I was the slightest bit sane…"

_Sanity is overrated, Nick. You're in the real world._

_Shut up, voice._

I glided up beside Max, holding Fang carefully in my arm. Max stared at me, wide-eyed, looking like she would break down in tears, or maybe exclaim with joy.

She barely whispered, "The cave," and then we were flying back to where I'd left them.

40 minutes later

We all flitted down into the cave, and I lay Fang on his back. Angel was holding my leg when I tried to turn, and I looked down at her, dumbfounded. But then- get this- I heard her voice in my head. I was reading her mind, and she was hoping I would pick her up.

She'd already accepted me. I leaned down, and picked her up into my arms, kind of like a baby, and positioned her so she was leaning against my shoulder, with one hand holding her back and one hand holding her legs. She smiled as I held her, and she hugged me gently. She already liked me. I smiled, blushing a little bit. Everyone was staring at us, Gazzy whispering to the blind kid what was happening.

I eventually set her down, and she whispered a small thank you. I nodded briefly, and then turned to leave. I may've saved Fang, but staying here was the last thing I wanted to do. Fang would probably wake up soon, and then everything would snowball. I extended my wings, but then Max ran up behind me.

"Wait!" she cried out, grabbing my wings. I turned to look at her- and she slapped me in the face. I winced, but my head hardly moved at all. Then my cheek started burning.

"What the heck, Max?" I said, rubbing my stinging cheek.

"Why did you leave me?" she asked, glaring at me.

I stared at her for a little bit and said, "Because I'm not wanted here by anybody with you… and if I stayed, you wouldn't want me then, either."

She stared at me in disbelief. "Fang-"

"Was saying some mean things," I finished. "I know he didn't mean anything he said, but he doesn't trust me. Because he's worried for you, he's suspicious as to why I should stay here. And I can't change his opinion of me. And if your friends are unhappy, you'll be unhappy. And if you're unhappy…" I paused. "I am."

She stared at me, knowing every word made perfect sense. "Please, she whispered. "I know you're worried about me, but… I can deal. I want to know you're safe…"

It wasn't a powerful argument, but she was worth staying, right?

I nodded slowly. "Alright," I murmured. "But not without consent of the governed."

Later that night

I lay awake, at the bottom of the cliff that the cave sat upon, staring up at the stars, and leaning against the mountain wall. The stars would move every so often, and I caught every motion. Just as I closed my eyes, I felt myself reading a mind- a mind with confusion and anger, usually not a good combo- that was flying down towards me. I rolled to the left, just in time for Fang's foot to hit the ground beside me.

I stood up and locked my eyes into his, his glare looking… weaker than last time.

"Why did you save me?" he asked, less of a shout than it'd been that night.

I didn't answer, trying to figure him out. He was thinking of killing me, but didn't want to because he felt… conflicted.

He suddenly punched me in the gut, hard enough to wind me, and spun a roundhouse kick into my back. I fell forward, doubled over, wincing with pain.

"Why?" he demanded. I rolled over to my back, staring blankly looking up at him.

"Because," I whispered. "You're my friend…"

"Bull!" he snapped, bringing his foot down into my stomach. I gasped, grunting with the feeling.

"Fine," I said. "Max matters to me. You matter to Max. Max would be heartbroken to lose you. I would hate knowing Max was upset. And I'd hate having to watch one of Max's friends be hurt. So…" I sighed, and then continued. "I may not matter to you… But you matter to me."

He stared into my eyes, and knew that every word must've been true. He was silent for a few seconds, and then he spoke.

"Well, you're one of Max's friends too, you know," he said softly. "And I can't stand seeing her friends hurt either." He reached a hand down to me, a smiling softly. I took his hand, then launched my knee into his stomach with my ascent. He gasped, his eyes bulging slightly.

"Call it payback," I said, laughing.

"Oh, you're gonna get it, dog boy!" he shouted, laughing.

"Anytime, tooth!" I counted, doing the same.

He tackled me, and we rolled down a steep hill on top of each other, and once we reached the bottom, he was on top.

"Pinned you," he said victoriously, laughing.

He helped me, up, and we shook hands.

"So, we're cool?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he said, grinning. "We're cool."


	7. Chapter 7

Theanimedude: Hi everyone, I'm baaack!

Fang: Nobody missed you…

Theanimedude: Nick did. Right, Nicky?

Nick: Please leave me out of this.

Fang: Wimp…

Theanimedude: Quiet, slave.

Fang: Again with this "slave" crap…

Nick: It's not crap, he owns you.

Fang: That isn't true.

Theanimedude: Oh, but it is. Oh so very true. (laughs maniacally as lightning claps in the background)

Fang: Freaks me the heck out...

Theanimedude: I don't own Maximum Ride, just Nick. But he's enough, especially since he does what I SAY!

Fang: (facepalm) this is ridiculous.

Nick: You think you've got it bad? I really am his slave.

Theanimedude: By the way, I messed up REAL bad last chapter. A lot of you probably noticed that Gazzy and Iggy were suddenly back... sorry bout that...

Fang: You fail.

Nick: Yes. I agree.

Theanimedude: I'll deal with you two in a bit. For now, here's the next chappie!

Nick and Fang: Oh crap.

Nick the Eraser chapter 7

Max POV

I woke up that night when I realized Fang wasn't sleeping behind me. _Great,_ I thought, pushing myself off the rocky floor. _What's he up to now?_

I decided he couldn't get far without his wings, and decided he was probably either somewhere in the cave or at the cliff. I walked through the cave, careful not to wake the flock, but found him nowhere. Then, when I turned to go out of the cave, there he was, just standing at the cliff, staring downwards.

I realized that Nick was sleeping at the bottom of the mountain, and Fang was watching him. Still didn't trust him, even after he saved his life.

Then- to my horror- he jumped, right off the cliff, and started falling. A startled gasp came from my throat, and I ran to the cliff. He was falling straight towards Nick. Death from above. That was his plan. Even if I'd flown down and tried to stop him, it would've been too late.  
>And Nick just lay there, not seeming to notice anything. "Run!" I hissed, hoping somehow he'd hear me. Then- just as Fang was upon him, he rolled to his left.<p>

When Fang landed, surprisingly unharmed by the jarring impact to his foot, Nick was on his feet, and they were squaring each other off.

"Why did you save me?" Fang asked Nick.

When he didn't answer, Fang punched him in the gut, and then spun a kick to his back. I felt anger bubble within me. Why couldn't he just leave him alone! He'd saved Fang's life, and here he was, attacking him!

"Why?" he demanded. Nick rolled over to his back, staring blankly up at him.

"Because," he whispered, barely audible even to my raptor ears. "You're my friend…"

"Bull!" Fang snapped, bringing his foot down into Nick's stomach. He gasped, and I felt myself get angrier. But... if I went down and attacked Fang, there'd be even more tension between us. Right then, though, Fang deserved a good shot- from Nick. Why didn't he defend himself?

"Fine," Nick said, and I paused to listen. "Max matters to me. You matter to Max. Max would be heartbroken to lose you. I would hate knowing Max was upset. And I'd hate having to watch one of Max's friends be hurt. So…" he sighed, and then continued. "I may not matter to you… But you matter to me."

This was why Nick hadn't fought back before he left. He didn't want to hurt me in hurting Fang. I once again was awed by his honesty, innocence and kindness. He took a beating from Fang to protect me. If I'd been him, I'd a decked Fang in the shnozz.

Fang stared into the sapphire oceans of eyes that Nick had blessed the world with, and knew that every word must've been true. He was silent for a few seconds, and then he spoke.

"Well, you're one of Max's friends too, you know," he said softly. "And I can't stand seeing her friends hurt either." Hold on. Fang was being reasonable with him? I had to see how this ended. Fang reached a hand down to Nick, smiling softly. Nick took his hand- then propelled his knee into Fang's stomach. I gasped, and then I saw the smirk on Nick's face.

"Call it payback," he said, laughing.

"Oh, you're gonna get it, dog boy!" Fang shouted, doing the same.

"Anytime, tooth!" Nick countered.

Fang tackled him, and they began wrestling, until they rolled down a hill, and when they reached the bottom, Fang was on top. From the joyful sounds they were making, I could tell they were just playing. They were playing... a few days ago they'd been at each other's throats, and just thirty seconds ago Fang had been kicking Nick around, but now they were playing.

"Pinned you," he said victoriously, laughing.

Fang helped Nick up, and they shook hands.

"So, we're cool?" Nick asked him.

"Yeah," he said, grinning. "We're cool."

My heart swelled. There was my repentant eraser friend and my brother, finally getting along. And I couldn't remember the last time Fang had laughed like that.

I smiled. They were friends now- and they were friends because they loved me. It was great to know that I was loved by so many, even enough to take beating for. I turned and went back into the cave, falling asleep easier than I had in years.

The next morning

Nick POV

When I woke up, I was laying back against the cliff wall, by hands propping my head up. Fang was sitting back against a tree a few yards away, still asleep. I looked up at the cliff, knowing that the rest of the flock was up there. Fang must have just fallen to get to me, I realized, due to his injured wings. Now he had no way to get back up. I smiled slightly. Fang would need my help. He'd probably ask for it willingly, now that we were getting along and such. I decided to let him sleep.

A few minutes later, I saw a winged figure flying down towards me. It was smaller than Max and the blind one, but slightly taller than Angel. I squinted, and saw a blond head attached to the flying body. It was Gazzy, the other one I'd hammered the day I'd attacked the flock. I instantly winced with realization- I'd never apologized to him. As he anded between me and Fang, I observed his massively bandaged stomach and back. Yow, I'd done a number on the poor kid. He was glaring at me with slight anger, but his mind let me know he, like Fang, was conflicted.

A few seconds later, I spoke up. "Sorry," I said quietly. "About that one day. Are you feeling okay?"

He nodded curtly, his glare softening, and said, "Thank you."

"What?" I said, flabbergasted. What did he have to thank me for?

"You saved my sister," he said, kicking at some pebbles on the ground.

Oh. Yeah. Angel. I'd saved her. Right.

"No prob, uh Gazzy?" I said, thinking this was his name.

"Gasman," he said, smiling slightly.

"Where'd that name come from?" I asked curiously. Long story short, he gave me a demonstration. The boy had some gas, that's for sure.

"Oh," I said, laughing awkwardly. He was grinning, as though proud of his title.

"Well," I said, clearing my throat. "What is it that you like to do, Gasman?"

"Bombs," he replied simply. "I love making bombs."

"Can you show me?" I asked, grinning. This wasn't so hard. I was already gaining Gazzy's trust...

One half hour later

"That's it!" Gazzy shouted ecstatically. I'd just made my first bomb, a very weak kind, with Gazzy's careful guidance. "Now what you've got to do is light it. Then you throw it at something, and it goes BOOM!" he cackled maniacally, and I laughed along with him. The kid was scary in his cuteness, a diabolical little pyro.

I stared at the bomb, wondering how to light it. The wick at the top was connected to the part that exploded, so I'd light it to make the bomb explode. I stared at the bomb, and then turned my hand into an eraser paw. Gazzy gasped upon seeing me do this, but I smiled reassuringly. I wasn't gonna hurt him. I found a tree and slashed a claw across it, letting the static electricity built up in my arm light a small fire. I lit the wick, and then chucked the bomb at the mountain wall. The explosion was almost immediate, blowing a huge crater into it. I literally could have fit five if my fully-morphed bodies into it. Rocks flew through the air, charred and ashen. I stared at them, dumbstruck, and Gazzy clapped his hands.

"Perfect!" he shouted. I smiled at him. He'd told me this was a weak bomb...

"Thanks, Gazzers," I said. He grinned from ear to ear, and I could tell we were already pals.

"What is going on here?" two voices shouted simultaneously.

I turned, and Max and Fang were standing side by side, glaring with their arms crossed in a no-nonsense kind of way. Oops.

"Nick made a bomb!" Gazzy said, puffing his chest out with pride. "I taught him!"

Fang looked at Gazzy bewilderedly, then at me. "No way,' he said, sounding unbelievingly. "Not another bomber..."

Max slapped her forehead. "Please wait until we're awake next time," she said, shaking her head.

"Sure Max," I said, and Gazzy nodded, looking as though he'd heard that before.

Max was smiling a little bit, even as she flew back up to the cliff, Gazzy following. She probably knew I'd made an effort to befriend Gazzy... three down, two to go.

a.n. I'm sorry to end this like this, but I'm about to leave my house, so I want to get SOMETHING uploaded.


	8. Chapter 8

Theanimedude: Hi, it's me again.

Nick: Ummm, what happened to Fang?

Theanimedeude (shows Nick a photo)

Nick: Oh my-

Theanimedude: (snickers) he was getting on my nerves. Look at his face though, doesn't he look happy?

Nick: That... that's horrible.

Theanimedude: Yes, and you too shall fall subject to the fierce power of deFEET if you do not fall in line!

Nick: No! My feet are sensitive and I hate being tickled! It's worse than being kicked around by erasers! (Cries pleadingly)

Theanimedude: Then make me a sammich!

Nick: Yessir!

Theanimedude: And speak grammatically.

Nick: Yes sir!

Theanimedude: Next chapter!

Nick the Eraser

Chapter 8

"-and then when he was falling with Angel I was like 'OHMYGAWSH ARE THEY GONNA DIE?' But then you were there, and you, like, caught him and Angel in one arm, and then you hit that chopper with lightning- how the heck did you do that?"

"It's a gift," I responded shakily to the eleven year old Nudge, the only black one in the flock, who had a serious case of motormouth. It was a little bit frightening. The sentence she had spoken to me just now had begun five minutes ago. All it took to gain her trust was an apology and a pair of ears. By the time we would finish this, they probably would've fallen off anyway. The flock seemed to know that I was going to talk to Nudge, because Max, Gazzy, Angel and the blind kid had all gone to the bottom of the cliff with the excuse of looking for food, and Fang had followed behind them, still unable to fly.

She grinned. "Angel has gifts, like, she can read minds and stuff."

"Get out!" I said a little surprised.

"Seriously!" she said, laughing. "What other gifts do you have?"

That was thankfully short. "Uh, well I fly really fast, I can read minds-"

"No way!" Nudge exclaimed. "Unbelievable! What am I thinking now?"

I stared at her, peeked into her head, and saw some pretty obvious things, like OHMYGAWSH and NO WAY and HE'S NOT SERIOUS.

"OHMYGAWSH, NO WAY, and HE'S NOT SERIOUS," I said, smiling.

Nudge was praising me ecstatically when the flock got back, Fang being supported by the blind one, who was holding him up by his underarms.

"Hey!" Nudge shouted as they returned. "Nick can read minds!"

That received various reactions, such as Gazzy's jaw dropping, Max almost falling over, Fang raising his eyebrows, and the blind kid saying "Huh?" intelligibly. Angel simply nodded and smiled, coming up to hug me with her return. The kid loved me already. I guess it was because I loved Max. That, and, you know, the whole "saving her life" thing helped.

I hugged the blond little girl, smiling at the warmth in her arms. She was already so comfortable with me, it was wonderful. Already she felt like a little sister. I could tell she really liked me, just like I did her.

I looked up at the flock in front of me and smiled. I received a smile from the flock, all but the blind guy, who couldn't see me, and who still hated me.

"So, about this reading minds thing," Max said. "How long have you been able to do this?"

"Since yesterday," I responded. "When I met Angel, she wanted me to hold her... so I did."

Angel nodded, sitting in my lap and smiling.

Max nodded, looking slightly spooked. Then she unloaded a sack of dead rabbits in front of us. Nudge's face turned green, but I eyed them hungrily.

"Are they...?" I began, but then stopped, realizing how horrible the question would sound, blushing.

"What?" Fang asked, looking up to meet my eyes.

I mumbled, then looked up and said, "Are they better than eraser?"

They stared at me, and then a look of realization met their eyes almost simultaneously. They looked stricken to say the least. Gazzy gulped, and I realized I'd probably met a ten on the "freaky" scale. I suddenly felt really uncomfortable, and I stood up to walk past them.

"Thanks, I'm not hungry," I murmured, running around them. "I'll be back at nine." I took off, feeling embarrassed and even freakier than before. I just... needed some space right then, I guess. Even though Max was my friend, and most of her flock were my friends, being with them had suddenly made me realize just how weird I was.

I flew until I saw a lake- hello. That is a lot of pure water. Not sewage water, lake water. Couldn't hurt to try some, right? I flitted down to the lake's banks, and stared at the water. It was clear, not green or brown. Okay, I was a deprived youth, gimme a break. I drank sewer water, I ate eraser limbs. So, yeah, lake water was a delicacy to me. I leaned down and put my face into the water- it was pretty cold, nice for a hot day.

I dove in, like I'd seen on tv sometimes, looking around the water. There were fish, lots of fish, all darting away from me. I swam towards them, chasing them, learning ever so slowly the tricks to swimming through water, occasionally going up for air. I was so thrilled to be in the water I completely forgot that I was a living third rail. Crap.

Third person

Iggy flew towards the lake, knowing that, for some reason, Nick had gone this way. Why was Iggy the only one out after him? Because he was the only one who didn't trust Nick, and he knew the area like the back of his hand... which he'd studied intensely before he became blind. Nevertheless, Iggy hated the idea of being alone with the freak. Gazzy had said he was alright, but he was just a kid. Easy to fool. Nick was probably cooking something up right now-

BOOM!

_I'm always right, _Iggy thought, flying in the direction of the explosion.

Altjough he couldn't see, Iggy knew from the smell that he had landed where the explosion had been. He heard low moaning nearby, and walked up to the source, knowing by the voice that it was, in fact, Nick.

"Ouch..." he heard the eraser hiss. "That... was stupid..."

Iggy looked in his direction. "What the heck did you do, mutt?" he asked cruelly.

Nick looked up at Iggy. And he felt his gaze on him. "I went swimming..." he muttered. "But then I exploded. Like a bomb, only it was reall just the electricity that exploded, not me..."

"Bummer," Iggy said snidely. "But seriously, what a moron. To get yourself filled to the brim with some freakish electricity-absorbing power, and then go swimming. This place probably looks like a battleground..."

Nick was stung by Iggy's words, but he held his tongue. "At least there's plenty of nice, fried fish," Nick replied softly. He stood up and walked around Iggy. "Why did you come out here? I said I'd be back by nine."

Iggy shook his head. "Max sent me. Said she was sorry you had to go through the ordeal."

Nick shook his head, saying "You hate me. Why not just take it out on me now? I could take it."

Iggy's temper flared. "You couldn't take me," he ground out.

"I'm sorry for what I did to Gazzers," Nick said earnestly. "And I understand exactly why you'd be angry at me. So, go to town. I deserve it anyways."

Iggy stared in his direction. "Why?" he asked, confused. "Why would you just let me?"

"Because I hurt Gazzy and I want to be forgiven. So if you can't forgive me until you've broken every bone in my body, so be it."

Iggy stared in Nick's direction, and he felt that Nick... maybe he wasn't so bad. He shook his head. "Well, Gazzy forgave you, why shouldn't I?"

Nick smiled, and shook Iggy's hand- just as he collapsed. Iggy felt him fall, and suddenly began to panic.

"Aw crap," he swore. "Dude! You all right?"


	9. Chapter 9

.

Theanimedude: Hello mah readahs!

Nick: Yes, hello... people.

Theanimedude: I liked it better when you were bored, you know. Now you're constantly afraid of me.

Nick: Don't tickle meee!

Theanimedude: ... Right. Where's Fang now?

Nick: Hiding behind that corner... (Points to corner)

Theanimedude: (snickers) Fang! Let's have some fun! ()whips out feather)

Fang: Oh, heck no! (runs away screaming)

Nick: O:

Theanimedude: Wow. I've... traumatized him.

Nick: Well, yeah.

Theanimedude: I'll try to console tall dark and screamy over there, kay? Nick, give the disclaimer.

Nick: Theanimedude owns me. That's all. And here's the next chapter.

Nick the Eraser chapter 9

I groaned as my eyelids fluttered open, pushing myself up from my stomach.

"... Where am I?" I asked nobody in particular. Everywhere I looked, even with my great night vision, there was just darkness. Lots and lots of darkness. Rather unnerving, I suppose, I mean, one minute you're recovering from the impact of exploding a lake, and the next you're in a place with absolutely nothing. _Where are the others?_ I thought. _What's going on?_

_Hello, Nick, _my freaky fortune cookie voice said.

_Oh. It's you. 'Sup._

_Nick, we need to talk._

_Ummm, okay, what about?_

_You need to leave the flock. Permanently._

My mind literally went blank on that one.

_What? No! I need them-_

_But you can't be with them._

_Why not? None of them hate me anymore... well, I don't think._

_Not everything is exactly what it looks like, Nick._

_Excuse me?_

_After what you said about eating Erasers, she's probably really scared of you. _

_I would never hurt them-_

_But that may not be in your control, Nick. You might not have a choice._

_You aren't making any sense, voice. _

_Maybe not to you. But I know much that you do not. Just trust me when I say you should leave the flock._

_No. I will always have a choice. I will NEVER hurt them again._

_Fine. But I DID warn you, Nick. Don't say I didn't._

With that it fell silent, and I fell unconscious.

When I woke up, I was being supported so that I stayed on my legs, and something was slapping me in the face.

"C'mon, man, snap out of it!" I heard the blind one saying.

"Ouch!" I shouted, and he dropped me like a hot skillet. My cheeks were stinging from his hand as I plopped down, my face landing in shin high water. I lifted my wet face and spit some water out. It didn't taste as good when it practically splashed into my tonsils.

I heard the blind one sigh from above me, and he said "Dude, what the heck was that?"

I looked up at him, and fibbed, "I have no idea. I was here... but then I was nowhere."

"Well I'm glad you're back here," he said. "I was starting to wonder if I was gonna have to do mouth-to-mouth."

I gagged, and then we busted out laughing.

"Hey," I said, looking to his sightless eyes. "I never caught your name."

"Seriously?" he said, looking a little surprised. "Well, it's Iggy. Thanks for asking."

"Iggy..." I smiled. "Glad to know you."

A few minutes later

"You missed your curfew, you know," Iggy said suddenly.

I looked over to him while we flew side by side. "What?"

"You said you'd be back by nine," he reminded me. "It's nine now."

I slapped myself in the face guiltily. "Crap," I swore. I'd messed up again. I had to stop letting Max down. "What'll I say to her?" I asked him.

"Just... tell her about your little drop off reality there," Iggy suggested, shrugging.

I remembered what he was talking about. "How long was I out?" I asked.

Iggy thought a minute. "About a half hour." He murmured.

Wow. My conversation with the weird voice had felt so much shorter.

"So... you think she'll blame me?" I asked, twiddling my thumbs with worry.

Iggy shook his head. "Not if I back you. We'd both be back by now if you hadn't fainted, anyway."

I smiled. "Thanks, Ig," I whispered. He nodded, cracking a grin.

Once we landed, it was about nine twenty, by the look of the sun. I gulped, and Iggy gave me a strange look.

"Are you really that afraid of her?" he asked me.

"No," I muttered. "But Max is the nicest person I know... I can't stand letting her down. I don't want her to be mad at me."

Iggy stared atme and then bust a gut laughing. "Max?" he said disbelievingly. "You really have had a deprived life, haven't you?"

My cheeks flushed as the flock ran out.

"Nick! Iggy!" Max shouted, looking relieved. "Where were you?"

"At the sight of what used to be a lake," Iggy answered, and my cheeks heated up considerably.

Max looked at me curiously, and I said "Lightning charged eraser plus lake equals boom."

We stood in silence for a couple seconds, but then everybody was laughing again, and I smiled slightly, still embarrassed.

"Oh man," Max said, trying to stop laughing. "Are you alright?"

"Head hurts," I offered. "But that's about it."

Once the flock had gained their composure, Max asked, "So, why weren't you back by nine?"

"Nick fainted," Iggy blurted, and it was all I could do to keep from blushing.

The flock stared at me, a little worried. "I'm fine," I said honestly. "Just... I was gone for about half an hour."

Max nodded slowly. "Okay... anything happen?"

I shook my head, hating lying to her, but they didn't need to know what had happened with my little... voice in my head. Wow, I sounded asinine...

Angel eyed me strangely, and I blocked out whatever chances she may have had to read my mind. Nobody else seemed to know that there was something really important being left out here.

"Why'd you faint?" Angel piped up.

I shrugged. "I, I dunno, maybe... I dunno."

"So... you just fell on the ground unconscious... for no reason," Fang clarified.

I nodded, shuffling my feet. If I told them, would they kick me out? I wasn't ready to take that risk.

I received various looks of concern, suspicion, and doubt, and I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"I'm... tired," I said. "I'm gonna go to sleep."

I jumped backward off the cliff, spreading my wings to slow my ascent before I reached the bottom. Man, I felt horrible for lying. But it couldn't be helped... at least not until I found out more of what the voice meant.

Max POV

As Nick left, all eyes turned to Iggy. He felt us looking at him, and shrugged. "I basically know as much as he's told us," he said honestly. He sat down next to a rock wall and leaned his back against it. Something was definitely off, I was sure of it. But what could have been? He fainted on the spot for no reason. WTH? I've never known that as possible.

We all eventually got comfortable in the cave, leaning back against its walls. Nick had never slept in the cave with us. I guess he was taking guard duty or something. Everything was alright- until we heard Nick shout.

We all scrambled up, all of us running for the clif, and when we saw what was at the bottom, our hearts froze. It just wasn't possible. No way, no how. But there it was- Ari. Standing a few feet from Nick, a devil's glint in his eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

Theanimedude: Heeeere's Nicky!

Nick: Hello!

Fang: 8D

Nick: ... Fang, your lines.

Fang: 8D

Nick: ... Fang?

Theanimedude: Something's wrong here... (pulls out feather)

Fang: 8D

Nick: That's not Fang!

Theanimedude: (pops inflatable Fang)

Nick: I didn't even know they had those.

Theanimedude: Oh, he's a dead man. Better yet- (brandishes feather like a sword)

Nick: It's the end of the line for you, Fang. Any last words before you are tickled to death?

Theanimedude: Ohhh, I like that line. I'll use it when I find him.

Nick: 8D Theanimedude owns me. That's all. Next chapter!

Nick the Eraser chapter 10

I stared at Ari, a few feet away from me, with shock written all over my face. Last I'd checked, I'd killed this guy. And yet here he was, glaring at me in all his Eraser glory. He'd already morphed fully, standing on two legs, licking his sharp, ugly teeth. I wondered if my teeth smelled like that, then remembered: evil dog child in front of me. Oral hygiene comes later.

"Hello, traitor," Ari said, looking poised to pounce. "How's your new crowd?" In hand to hand combat, he'd have no chance. I stared at him, my eyes narrowing, waiting for him to think he had an opening- so I could kill him again. How in the heck was he back? _Kick butt first; ask questions later,_ I reminded myself. The thought of it not being possible that he was back seemed irrelevant- he was a threat to Max's flock. No way in heck was he going to get off with his life. If there's a threat, you eliminate it, right? "Just like the flock would eliminate me if I told them-

While I was thinking, Ari had leapt forward to attack. I jumped back, narrowly avoiding his gnashing wolf fangs. My jump left me vulnerable, however, and he brought a ragged, furry fist into my stomach. I gasped, doubled over, then righted myself and launched myself into the air. I jumped about ten feet up, then crashed a foot into Ari's chest, causing him to fall backward. He, however, used the momentum of my strike to roll backward, quickly retreating from another attack, though gasping.

I lifted a hand and readied myself to discharge a lightning bolt- but I was dry. Not a bit of electricity left in me from the lake incident. I swore quietly, and then jumped forward, hitting his chest with my palm just enough to push him back, and then snapped my foot to his chest creating a loud CRACK!

Usually by now an eraser would have fallen backwards, moaning loudly. But Ari straightened up, and brought his fist towards my face. I blocked his attack with my right arm, and then jammed my left elbow into his side. He winced, though he should have been howling with agony.

I then tossed him into a tree with my right arm, and he hit it with his body upside down, his face level with my foot, giving me the perfect chance to do my favorite trick-

"Boot to the head!" I shouted, and wow, did that hurt him. He screeched, holding his head with agony. I stared down at him, almost sorry. Almost being the important word there. He was threatening Max's flock, something of which I had a no tolerance policy. Just as I began to feel sorry for him, he was up on his feet- piercing the back of my neck with a needle, another foreign liquid shooting into me.

I gasped with pain- and then swept his legs out from under him, grabbing him and hurling him into the sky. I flew upward and promptly head butted his stomach, knocking him higher, causing him to emit another howl of pain, and then threw him as far as I could southwards.

I panted, glad for finishing the job, but panicked. What was inside me now?

_I told you you might not have a choice Nick._

_Voice? What the heck just happened?_

_Ari took your choice away. If you stay, you will kill the flock._

_No! You freak, you knew this would happen!_

_And I warned you. But you didn't listen._

"Nick!" Max's voice interrupted our... uh, conversation, as she and the flock, minus Fang, flew up beside me.

"Not now," I said, holding a hand out. "Gotta talk to the head."

Her face contorted into confusion as I resumed "talking" to the freaky voice.

_What do you mean, I won't have a choice?_

_Pretty soon, an animalistic instinct will kick in, causing you to automatically want to kill. If you stay with these people, you will kill them._

"Crap!" I shouted, tears forming at the corners of my eyes. "

Max and the flock stared at me with alarm, and I shook my head, biting my lip. It wasn't true. I'd called his bluff. IT WAS NOT TRUE.

_Have I ever steered you wrong, Nick?_

_You've only steered me once. That's not enough._

I then looked from the ground to Max with a shuddering breath. She looked alarmed, and the flock did as well.

"Nick," Max whispered. "What happened?"

"Why was stupid Ari here?" Gazzy asked angrily.

I shook my head, feeling helpless and confused. "Nothing. Ari just... pushed a needle into me is all."

Max and the flock looked stunned. "It was probably just a sedative-" as I said the words I passed out.

When I woke up, I was deep inside the flock's cave, and Max was kneeling over me, Fang beside her. They both looked relieved to see me wake up.

"Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

I nodded, but then I rolled to my stomach and hurled onto the floor. I barely missed them both, and I moaned, shuddering.

Max's hand was going around my back, between my wings. It was... relaxing, but not right. If I stayed here, were they in danger? Max was like a sister, or a mom to me, already. Her flock had just begun to trust me. What if I was threatening them by staying here?

I let Max rub my back, whispered a quiet thank you, and stood up shakily. Max's eyes were now really worried. I'd just barfed after having a needle put into me, and we had no clue what could have been in it. Fang looked worried, but you had to look past his eyes to see it. The way his left foot steadied him more than his right, and the way his eyebrow narrowed.

I shook my head, feeling like crap, and walked over to an unoccupied cave wall. "I just need to rest," I said, hoping I sounded more confident in this decision than I was.

Max nodded, but she lied down next to me, not wanting me to have another sickness attack without her to help. She was asleep shortly, but she looked alert, even in her sleep.

I slept, eventually. But then I felt something tugging at me. I opened my eyes, and looked around. Everything was a slightly light shade of scarlet. I wanted to kill, suddenly. I looked around, and saw one of the people nearest to me- Iggy. He was asleep on his side, his throat beckoning me to chomp down on it. I crawled over to him, morphing in the process. Once I'd reached him, I opened my gaping mouth and brought my fangs down to his neck.


	11. Chapter 11

Theanimedude: I found Fang!

Nick: Oh geez, what'd you do to him?

Theanimedude: Nothing that bad, the same as last time.

Nick: Man, you are horrible.

Theanimedude: Whatever it takes to keep my men in line. Be glad you've never steered off the path, Nick.

Nick: What path?

Theanimedude: The only path that keeps you from being tickled until you want to die. :3

Nick: Of course.

Theanimedude: Nick is mine. Nothing else is. Except for my shiny quarter.

Nick: Oh, that's shiny. o.o

Theanimedude: One question before I upload the next chapter, is Max too OOC? Please review and answer this question!

Nick the Eraser

I was about to close my jaws when I saw an ant two feet away from Iggy's neck. I chopped my hand down on it instinctively, and it was squished. My vision instantly went back to normal, and I jumped away from Iggy. That had been too close. I'd almost killed him. But he only just started trusting me!

I shook my head, feeling tears pressing at the corners of my eyes. How could I stay with them, knowing I was really a threat to them? The voice had been right. I growled at myself, demorphed, and sat back against the wall. Everything was going to be fine...

I stood back up just as quickly as I had sat and took off. Within seconds, I was in the air, tears streaming across my face. I couldn't stay. I'd kill them if I stayed. The only people I trusted in the whole world- and I would kill them if I got near them.

Hatred towards Ari, love for Max, sadness at leaving her, it all flowed out. I flew straight forward, not noticing my energy slowly declining- that is, until I fainted while going two hundred miles per hour. Crap, again.

The next morning

I woke up groggily, instantly noticing the pain in my head. Ouch! Ouchouchouch! It felt like I was the roadrunner, and Wile E. Coyote had finally dropped an anvil on my head. The next thing I noticed was that I was in a bed. A bed. A BED! I processed this slowly, and then bolted upright, the bed creaking. It wasn't the school, I realized with relief. No, instead I was in a very cozy room, with walls painted blue and a ceiling fan with a light bulb (off) in it. It looked like it was kept tidy, though not used very often.

_Where the hack am I? _I thought, confused. I heard shuffled footsteps, and a female voice yelling "Mom! He woke up!"

The door opened, and standing in the doorway was a twelve-year-old brunette girl, looking oddly familiar. She smiled at me when I looked up at her.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she said playfully. Her voice sounded familiar, too, but an octave higher than the one I recognized.

"W... Where am I?" I whispered, confused.

The girl walked over to the bed I was sitting on and sat beside me. "My house," she answered.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well," she began. "Last night I was sleeping but then I heard a really loud THUNK. My mom and I went outside to see what had happened, and you were lying on your stomach outside, with a big dent in the wall above you, and your head was bleeding all over the place. My mom said that you must have bounced off the house on your head, and then you wouldn't wake up, so we took you inside, bandaged your head, and brought you in here, and then you were just conked out up until now." She took in a deep breath. "That's about it," she said, her face looking concerned now. I reached up- and yup, my head had been bandaged all over.

I remembered – I'd been flying, but then I passed out midflight. I must have crashed into their house on accident. "Sorry," I murmured guiltily.

"How'd that happen anyway?" she asked. "Were you mugged?"

I shook my head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Okay, I'll wait until mom comes. She'll persuade you," the girl said, smiling.

With that, a younger woman, as in not old, but not like, high school grade, walked in, also a brunette, and with a stunning resemblance to both the person I couldn't quite place, and this girl. She handed me a glass of water, which I accepted graciously.

"How do you feel?" she asked worriedly.

"Head hurts," I said. "Fine otherwise."

"What exactly happened?" she asked me. I read her mind, and I didn't see the slightest bit of evil intent in her.

"You wouldn't believe it," I said again. "I'm kind of... unusual."

"Try me," the woman said smiling. "I've seen things that have blown my mind."

I slowly unfurled my wings, pure white, like my hair, and their expressions weren't as amazed as I expected, but they weren't bored, either. We sat in silence, uncomforting.

"Do you know Maximum Ride?" the woman asked me carefully and quietly. I nodded, surprised.

She shook her head. "So I'm guessing you accidentally flew into our house," she murmured. I nodded, embarrassed, ashamed, and guilty.

The girl smiled at me. "We both know Max, you aren't the first winged person to come here," she said cheerfully. It was as though my wings hardly existed now. Could I possibly have already been accepted?

The woman held out her hand, and I took it gently. She helped pull me up, and I stood beside her, dazed.

"You're head wound was pretty bad," she announced. "But if you stay with us a couple days, it should heal up."

I nodded warily, and said thank you quietly. She nodded. "Who are you?" I asked.

"Doctor Martinez," she said, smiling. "And this is my daughter, Ella." Ella grinned, showing pearly white teeth. I self-consciously fingered my gums, and they laughed.

"You should brush your teeth," Ella said. I smile sheepishly, and followed her to the bathroom to learn how.

I had to stay there for a couple days, helping around the house, cleaning, talking to Ella and her mom, and- a real treat- eating chocolate chip cookies. They smelled like what I imagined heaven smelling like, and they tasted amazing. So much better than eraser. And hot dogs, too. While I was staying there, I met their dog, Magnolia. I'd never seen dogs other than wolves, so it was interesting, especially since I wasn't supposed to eat her.

I never had another "kill people" outbreak. My bond with them grew slowly, I was there for a long time, and I felt as if it'd be fine if I lived there, since I had nowhere else to go. They didn't have any problem with it, either.

I'd told Doctor Martinez almost nothing about Max. From what she said about her, we were talking about the same person. I told her we were friends, but that was it. For a few days, I felt safe, almost loved.

One day when I was outside, sitting in the top of a tree, I felt a sudden warmth. It was THAT warmth, I realized. The air felt warmer with Max around.

Sure enough, when I looked down, Fang was behind a tree, and Max was walking towards the house, a huge grin plastered to her face. From what I'd heard from the Martinez's, Max was really close to them in the few days she knew them.

My stomach flipped, and my throat went dry. I couldn't believe it. I felt like running to her, my arms outstretched, but then I felt like running away. I didn't know what to do. I seemed fine, blending with the shadows partly, due to the fact that my clothes were black jeans and a black t-shirt, which Doctor Martinez had bought for me. With luck, I could leave without being noticed. But I felt glued to my spot.

Doctor Martinez opened her front door, and her eyes widened with surprise when she saw Max. The two rushed towards each other and embraced, and Max actually had tears in her eyes. I hugged myself, my arms crossing over my belly, guilt flowing through me. But... if I'd stayed, I'd of killed her. Of course, that was an excuse. But I still felt guilty. Right then, I hoped with all my heart that I wouldn't be noticed.

Max and Doctor Martinez were talking, and then Fang came out from behind the tree. They talked a little bit as well. And still there I hid, hoping that Doctor Martinez wouldn't-

"Nick!" Doctor Martinez yelled. "Max is here!" I froze on the tree limb. Max slowly turned around, with her eyes darting everywhere, looking for me. She still hadn't seen me, but I was as good as caught now, anyway. I felt sunk.

I slowly jumped down from the tree, landing in front of it. Max's eyes widened when she saw me, as did Fang's. I stared at the ground, unwilling to look them in the eye. They were probably really mad. If only I'd at least told them...

Max was walking towards me, seemingly in slow motion. I was praying she'd forgive me. If I just told her... yeah, she'd forgive me. Of course she would.

It didn't take too long for her to be right in front of me. She stood there, and I was afraid to look up to see her eyes. She stared at me before I mustered up the courage to raise my head. I stared at her for a long moment, before saying "Hi, Max." Pretty lame, huh?

"'Hi, Max?'" she said back. She then punched me across the face, and my head jolted to the left. Okay, I deserved that. I looked back to her, not letting pain show on my face. I was once again the emotionless eraser from the school- on the outside. Inside, I wanted to cry until I dehydrated.

She punched me again, and my head went left again. Ouch. She definitely hadn't lost it in those few days. I smiled, and she snarled.

"You don't have anything to smile about!" she shouted angrily. This time when she punched, I ducked under her arm and jumped back up into the tree. She looked up at me, glaring, and she was upset, happy I was safe, but mad I had left like that.

"Why don't you trust me?" she asked suddenly. Shocked, I looked her in the eyes. She was still staring meanly, but her glare was weakening.

"I trust you!" I said, feeling myself tear apart. That would certainly happen if I didn't trust her.

"Then why did you leave?" she asked furiously.

"That's exactly why I left!" I said, a bit vague, but half of the truth.

"You aren't making since, Nick!" she shouted, jumping up to hit me again. I leapt off the tree, narrowly avoiding her fist, and landed on my feet on the ground. Her foot met squarely with my stomach not a second after I landed, however, and I winced. I fell backwards, landing on my back. She stood over me, glaring down at me. Fang had been holding back a very upset Doctor Martinez, telling her we had issues to work out. And boy, did we have issues...

"The truth, Nick," she said, her voice suddenly much softer. "Why did you leave?"

"I..." I began. "I didn't want to..."

"Didn't want to what?" Max asked impatiently.

"I didn't want to kill the only people I trusted," I said finally.

Dead silence. Max stared down at me. "If you mean because the whitecoats are after you, they're after us, too," she said.

"It's not that," I said, slowly standing up. "The whitecoats I could deal with. I'm strong enough-"

"Then you shouldn't have had anything threatening you to lead away from us," she said.

I shook my head sadly and murmured, "Other than myself..."

She stared at me, confused. "But you-" she started.

"I knew what the thing Ari put in me was, okay?" I said. She remained silent. "It was a drug," I began, "that forced an animalistic instinct on me, making me kill anything around me." Max's eyes widened. "And if I stayed," I said, "I'd kill the only people in the world I trusted."

"So you left and took refuge in an innocent person's home?" she said, her eyes growing teary.

"It never came up again!" I defended myself. "Your lives were more important to me!"

"Why didn't you tell us?" she asked angrily.

"Because I knew you couldn't do anything," I responded. "And if I'd of stayed any longer, I'd of risked killing you! I want you to live, Max. You're the most important people to me in this world. If I killed you..." I looked down at the ground. My point was made.

"Even if you wanted me to come with you," I said. "I wouldn't. If I can't live with you without killing you, I won't live with you at all."

Max nodded, holding back tears. "Just..." she said. "Don't stay here. I'm sure you'll find a way to get this out." She then took Fang with her, and flew away, leaving me behind.

"I'll... see you..." I whispered.


	12. Chapter 12

Theanimedude: I didn't get any reviews last chapter...

Fang: Oh, well maybe that's because-

Theanimedude: (Holds feather threateningly)

Fang: (shuts up immediately)

Nick: (horror stricken face)

Theanimedude: I thought so. Review because every time you view this without reviewing, I find another ticklish spot on Fang. BWAHAHAHA...

Nick: Meep! Fang! Run!

Fang: (Disappears)

Theanimedude: Okay, a lot of people probably like the idea of Fang being tickled, so... every time you read this without reviewing, Ari kills a kitten.

Ari: I'M STILL ALIVE, PIGGYS!

Nick: Piggys?

Theanimedude: And if Chickenman12 leaves another stupid review, Ari will kill an orphan. I own Nick, nobody else. Next chappie!

**REVIEW!**

Nick the Eraser chapter 12

_Well I heard there was a secret chord  
>that David played and it pleased the Lord<br>But you don't really care for music, do you  
>Well it goes like this<br>The fourth, the fifth,  
>The minor fall and the major lift<br>The baffled king composing Hallelujah_

I sat by the radio, in the room that the Martinez's had let me stay in for the past few days. The song playing was the first one I'd ever heard... and it was sad. Ella told me music could be happy, like somebody named... Justin Beeper? I don't know. But the music perfectly highlighted my mood. It finally hit me harder- Max had trusted me, and now she couldn't. I wouldn't trust me.

I missed them. I missed little Angel, strong, hard, sharp as a dagger Fang, blind, jokester Iggy, the smelly Gasman, adorable motormouth Nudge, and- the one I missed the most- beautiful, powerful, graceful, tough, caring, brutal Max.

I hugged myself as the radio continued playing, tears prickling at the corners of my eyes.

_Baby I've been here before  
>I've seen this room and I've walked this floor<br>I used to live alone before I knew you  
>And I've seen your flag on the marble arch<br>and love is not a victory march  
>It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah<em>

Ella walked in, holding a muffin and some milk, looking as sad as I felt, only not teary. "Breakfast, Nick," she whispered. I looked up at her, and she saw I was crying. She walked across the room and wrapped an arm around my neck, after setting the food down on a nightstand Doctor Martinez had let me put in this room, next to the radio.

"You must miss her so much..." she said, her voice breaking, but calm. "They were your only friends... and you had to leave them to protect them."

I nodded. Ella had been hugging me off and on lately, like I was her brother or something. Ya know, the kind of brother that's weak hearted, and needs his younger sister for comfort.

My arm crept around her, enwrapping her stomach and back. "I don't know what to do," I whispered brokenly. "If I stay here I could hurt you, if I go with the Max I could hurt her- no matter where I go, no matter how hard I try, the people I care about will be the ones who suffer... and that makes me suffer."

Ella nodded, her chin brushing my shoulder before she brought her head back up. Some tears had run from her face to my shoulder. "You don't deserve this," she whispered. "You wouldn't ever hurt anyone unless it was to protect somebody, but now you can't help it. It's not fair..."

I felt lifeless, my arms barely hugging her as another song played from the radio.

_Hear that lonesome whippoorwill  
>He sounds too blue to fly<br>The midnight train is whining low  
>I'm so lonesome I could cry<em>

"Listen..." she whispered. "You're you on the inside. Half the time you can be a murderous, horrific beast..." I winced at her description. "…but that isn't you. You're the most kindhearted, caring, good person in the world. You know that, though. So find a way to get rid of that monster."

"Where should I start?" I asked her.

"Wherever the most horrible things have happened to you," she said, and it made perfect since.

_The school, _my head voice chimed in at the same time as I thought it. So all the intelligences in my head agreed, it was unanimous.

I held her, before my arms fell from her sides. She took this as a cue to let go as well. I wiped my nose on my arm, a newfound determination rising up within me. I would get rid of this animal I'd become. And I would rejoin the flock if they let me.

The next morning

I hugged the Martinezs one last time, before turning to take off, a backpack hanging off of one shoulder, filled with cookies and some things that Doctor Martinez put in for me. I had told them I was leaving at Ella's suggestion, and I'd set off teary-eyed. Leaving them hurt almost as much as leaving Max did, but I had to do it. It was for their sake as much as mine. I wouldn't forgive myself if I hurt them, and who knew when another of my outbreaks would come.

The air was chilly, and my wings occasionally stiffened from the cold. I morphed to make myself warmer, but the cold air had already slipped its finger down my spine. I shivered in the air, my teeth clenching. I needed to warm up sometime soon, before I got to the school.

I saw a cave down below, and flew down towards it. It was unoccupied, but not large enough to hold me and give me the warmth I desired. I reached a clawed hand in and shoveled out a handful of dirt, my fingers already numbing.

I continued to dig into the ground, making a small tunnel, large enough to fit myself into. I lay down in it five minutes later, , but the cold that had already gotten to me wouldn't leave. So I set a fire, using a few sticks and my electricity.

I then realized I was hungry. I reached into the bag Doctor Martinez had set up for me, pulling out a handful of chocolate chip cookies. There were still a lot in there, and eating three or four wasn't much. I demorphed, realizing that anybody walking by would be frightened.

I smiled at my work, chewing on the little heavenly circles, warming up in my tunnel next to my fire. But then I slumped down, a frown crossing my features. I was only about ten miles from the Martinez's, and knew I'd have to go further out. I lay back peacefully, thinking, "A rest couldn't hurt..." I began drifting off to sleep, wishing I had company, anybody.

I had just crossed into dreamland, when I heard a small sniffling beside me. I looked up, and saw a little girl, maybe six years old. She looked so much like Angel it almost hurt, but her hair was brown. She was wearing a little white gown, which had some dirt on it, and a pair of khaki shorts. She had tears running down her adorable face, and her arms were wrapped protectively around her waist.

"Hey, are you all right?" I asked gently. She shook her head no, not crying, but tears were spilling across her face. "What's wrong?" I asked her worriedly. I looked at where she was holding, and saw the line of red. I gasped- she was bleeding. I reached for my backpack, taking out a large bandage and some Neosporin, reaching for her with one arm. She tiredly crawled over to me, and almost fell, and ended up leaning on me, her back turned to me. She was so small; her head barely touched my chest. I lifted her shirt slightly, and she winced as I rubbed the Neosporin on it with my bare finger. I then put the bandage over it, and smiled reassuringly down at her. Finally I used a little wipe to clean her belly up, and she sighed and shivered as the cold cleaning material touched her skin.

"There," I whispered. "All better?" she nodded, mumbling a thank you. I looked around, nobody was looking for her. We were right next to a road, and she looked like she'd been through a lot.

"What's your story, id?" I asked her.

"Umm..." she whispered. "My name's Sarah... I was at a school... and these people kept hurting me... so I flew here..." I looked down at her back, which had little ruffles where there were wings. I almost gasped, but I wasn't that surprised.

"Oh, you poor baby," I mumbled, rubbing her back gently. She shuddered at my touch, but soon leaned back against me, trustingly.

"I'm Nick," I whispered."I'll keep you safe. Don't worry." Sara nodded before falling asleep between my legs, leaning against my stomach. I hesitantly leaned down and kissed her forehead, before leaning back and falling asleep as well.


	13. Chapter 13

Theanimedude: Hey guys.

Nick: Hi.

Fang: (shudders)

Theanimedude: I've decided to only tickle Fang if he steps over the line now... so, be a good boy, kay Fang?

Fang: (mutters) fine.

Nick: Yay, we're all happy!

Sara: Yay!

Max: Yay!

Iggy: Ya-

Random unseen voice: Get on with it!

Everyone: )8

Theanimedude: Okay... Um, Ari kills a kitten when you don't review, next chapter, after I say I only own Nick.

Nick: It's not so bad...

Nick the Eraser chapter 13

I woke up the next morning when Sarah sat up and poked my arm. I looked down at her adorable face and smiled.

"Morning, Sara," I whispered. She did a little half smile.

"I'm hungry," she said. I reached back into my back pack and gave her some cookies. Yeah, yeah, way to be the bad parent Nick, I didn't exactly want to put her through the trauma of eating freshly killed animals, did I? Cookies it is then. She nibbled on them and moaned with pleasure, her pale eyes sparkling. I grinned, the poor girl had been through a lot at the school, obviously, and the first food she ate when she got out was cookies, homemade cookies, no less.

I scanned the sky for something, anything that might suffice as my breakfast- and gasped. The flock was flying about two thousand feet up in the air. My powerful vision made out their faces easily, and they all looked a little sad. Was it because of me? I didn't want to look at their sad faces-

Suddenly my vision went hazy red.

_No, _I thought to myself in terror. _Not now!_

"Sara," I whispered with effort, and she looked up from her last cookie. "Go inside the cave, I've got something I-I need to do," I managed.

I morphed as soon as she got inside the tunnel, and I took off against my own will. I was so quick, so silent, that the flock didn't even notice me- until I rammed straight into Iggy from below, causing his air to leave him in a startled "OOOF!" Everyone turned to see what happened, and were momentarily startled by the sight of me. I then threw Iggy towards Gazzy, who caught him- just as I rammed into his back, using my amazing speed to get behind him. He gasped, and I swear I heard a bone break. I felt tears at the corners of my eyes, as Max shouted

"Nick! Stop!" I turned to her, and somehow managed to speak the words "Strike... m-me... down!" before I barreled towards her. As I reached her, Fang tackled me, and I mentally praised him while cursing him at the same time. I whimpered like a dog, or a wolf, ha ha, and fell down a little. Fang was coming at me from below, and as much as I wanted to just let him knock me out to save the flock, I couldn't. I turned to him and roared, and then kicked him square in the jaw. He stumbled back, and I shouted, "I'm sorry!" I'm sure if it had been on television, and I hadn't really been hurting my friends, it would have been hilarious. But no, I was hurting my friends, and I couldn't stop myself.

I can't escape this hell  
>So many times I've tried<br>But I'm still caged inside  
>Somebody get me through this nightmare<br>I can't control myself

I spun a hard kick towards Max, and to my terror, she started dropping. I couldn't save her, if I tried, I'd hurt her more!

"Fang!" I shouted pleadingly. "Go help Max! I'm so, so sorry!" To my relief, he dived after her- and I then punched Nudge in the gut, hard. Her breath left her as fresh tears stained my fur.

So what if you can see  
>The darkest side of me<br>No one will ever change this animal I have become  
>Help me believe it's not the real me<br>Somebody help me tame this animal

I whipped my hand towards Gazzy, and he blocked it with one arm, and flew around my back. A pressure point would knock me out, but no, that wouldn't do for stupid monster-me. I flew after him, and kicked him in the stomach, my regret hazing my vision more than the red demonic bloodlust.

I can't escape myself  
>So many times I've lied<br>But there's still rage inside  
>Somebody get me through this nightmare<br>I can't control myself

I then looked to Angel, trying to hold myself back, but couldn't as I flew towards her. Iggy, Fang and Max grabbed my limbs, just as my monstrous fangs nearly bit off her flesh, and I praised the lord in that moment- just as electricity blasted out from my body, making the eldest members of the flock shriek.

So what if you can see  
>The darkest side of me?<br>No one will ever change this animal I have become!  
>Help me believe it's not the real me<br>Somebody help me tame this animal I have become  
>Help me believe it's not the real me<br>Somebody help me tame this animal

Gazzy angrily dove in and whacked me with what looked like a long stick, then jumped away. I looked down at my stomach where the blow had landed, and gasped. He'd attached a freaking bomb to me!

KABOOM! I felt the white-hot pain of the explosion hitting me, burning my fur, and knocking me backward through the air. I flew around, and slowly the flames on me died, and I snarled lunging for Gazzy once more, against my will.

Somebody help me through this nightmare  
>I can't control myself<br>Somebody wake me from this nightmare  
>I can't escape this hell<p>

I threw my fist into Gazzy's wing, knocking off balance, and when he turned to face me, I threw a side kick to his stomach, making him gasp. Why did I have to cause him this pain? Fang flew up behind me, aiming for my neck, but I bobbed down, and flipped forward so that when I was upside down, my foot crashed into his back and sent him falling straight back down.

Help me believe it's not the real me  
>Somebody help me tame this animal<p>

I cried harder as I flew after Angel, but Gazzy dive bombed me, literally cannon balling into my back. I fell, and couldn't get my strength back before I plummeted into the ground. I landed, and my body bounced from the impact, before I once again landed flat on my stomach, my breath leaving me. I was glad the flock had done it though. I would choose them over me any day. I coughed up a blot of blood, and tried to pull myself up, but couldn't. Max swooped down next to me, and upon landing beside me, she held my legs down.

Fang and Iggy each took an arm, and though my fangs gnashed at them, I couldn't reach, to my relief.

"Nick!" I heard a voice say. Sara came running out of the tunnel, teary eyed.

"Sara! No! Get back!" I shouted desperately. The flock looked at Sara, and back to me. Sara kept running, and she threw herself at me. She grabbed my hand, and said "Don't hurt him! Please!"

I flailed, my monster half enraged. But then- everything was calm. Sara holding my hand had stopped my attacks. My vision returned to normal, but I'd already I felt exhausted, and I lay my head down. Sara was holding my furry half paw, half hand, crying gently.

"Why did you do that?" she shouted suddenly. The flock looked down at her, stunned.

"He didn't do anything! He's a really nice person! B-but you-" she sobbed into my hand fur, and I stared at her silently.

"Sweetie," I began. "It was my fault. I attacked them. I couldn't stop it. Don't blame them, they're the victims..."

Sara looked at me, her adorable, angelic face coated with tears, and nodded. I reached for her, and her hand hardly covered half of mine. I could barely move like this, what with all my limbs pinned, but I had to, to comfort her.

The flock let go of me, but I still stayed there. Everything hurt. My wings had been the first things I landed on, and then I had landed on my face and stomach the second time.

Max looked down at us, her face looking sad.

"So..." I whispered. "You guys, I'm sorry... I couldn't stop it..."

"Its fine," Fang said, surprisingly the first to reply.

The rest of the flock followed suit shortly, and I nodded.

"Okay... I'll see you guys later..." I whispered again.

"Later?" Max shouted. "You want us to leave you here like this?"

I looked up. "I'm not safe..." I muttered, too tired to break down again.

"We'll live," Max replied, as Iggy and Fang lifted me by my arms and legs.

"Sara...!" I said in a hoarse whisper. She nodded, and she spread her brown speckled wings. The flock looked at her, more surprised than I was, but then Max nodded, and in about ten seconds we were in the sky.

"So..." Max said, flying up next to Sara, opposite me. "How'd you meet Nick?"

Sara looked at her, a stubborn glare on her face. "Go ahead and say, sweetheart," I whispered. Sara looked at me, her glare softening, and without looking at Max said "He helped me..."

Max stared at her, her face asking for more details, and Sara spoke up again.

"I had a really big cut... right here," she said, lifting her shirt slightly, revealing the large bandage. "But he covered it up and fed me... I didn't have nowhere to go, an' he didn't even know me, but he helped me."

Max looked at me, and I smiled, but I'm sure it looked like a grimace. My face was burnt, my limbs ached from my crash landing, and I was certain I'd broken a rib or two.

Max smiled, her face contorted with worry, and said "Just like you to want to help somebody, Nick." I shrugged, wincing at the pain in my shoulders, before we touched down at a hospital.

"Nuh uh," I whispered. "I'm fine-"

"Don't be stupid, Nick" Iggy piped up. "No way are you gonna live like this." I tried protesting, but blood began to clot at my throat, and I made a gurgling sound instead.

I demorphed from my wolf form, not wanting to freak anybody out, and lost consciousness on the spot.


	14. Chapter 14

Theanimedude: here's a chapter for you! Just one thing though- is it illegal to post other songs on fanfiction? The songs I've used so far are

Three days grace: Animal I have become

Elvis Presley: I'm so lonesome I could cry

Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah

That's crediting them, but am I in the clear? I hope so! :

Also- let's say I take a song, credit the original writer, and then change some lyrics to fit the situation. Is that illegal? This is REALLY important to me! Someone please tell me! I'm clueless! :P

Sorry for not updating, I don't even know if people read this anymore...

**Review!**

Nick the Eraser chapter 14

_I ran at the last Eraser, my fist at the ready, and it growled as it charged towards me. I punched it in the stomach full throttle- and it screamed with pain. I looked at the erasers's face gasping. It was Max! She was doubled over, groaning, tears in her eyes. She then disappeared, leaving a pan of cookies behind. I automatically dove for them, but they suddenly became needles, injecting themselves into me. I fell to the ground, and I heard footsteps nearby. I looked up to see Doctor Martinez, holding a hand out for me. I took it and she grinned evilly._

"_Time to be put down, dog boy," she cackled. _

_I felt my life moving through my mind, and the time I'd spent on Earth slipped down my spine. I was dying, I knew it. Then a brilliant light appeared, and I ran towards it. I reached out to touch it, and then _gasped, instantly bolting upright in my hospital bed.

A dream... that's what it had been. But... why was I in a hospital bed? I thought back, and remembered my fight with the flock. And then I realized that pain was crossing my limbs, like little bolts of pain shooting through my legs up to my arms, and then back.

"Ouch," I whispered hoarsely. Looking down at myself, I saw casts on my legs, and groaned. There were casts on my arms as well. I was NOT in good shape. I looked around the room, and smelled some sort of chemicals, but they weren't like the school chemicals. The room was a disgustingly bland white, tile lining the ceiling and floor. In one corner of the room was a door. I was dressed in a white hospital gown, something new to me.

I was there a few minutes, thinking of my dream, and how I'd seen my life moving through my mind.

_Looks like it came back for more, _I thought to myself. _After all, I can't die._

_You would've._

_Gah! Voice, you ever think of knocking?_

_The door was open._

_Of course. I'm a very open-minded person._

_Actually, you could afford to be more so, Nick._

_How would that help?_

_You'll see._

The voice was quiet, thank god, after that. I sighed, and a nurse walked in through the door.

"Hello, Matt Ride," she said. I guess that's what Max said my name was. I looked to her, and nodded briefly.

"You suffered some pretty bad injuries from the gang that attacked you," the nurse said. Again, something Max must have told her.

"Oh, really?" I whispered.

She nodded. "You should be able to move in a wheelchair for a little while," she said.

"And your little, eh, extra appendages should be moving sooner than your arms and legs."

I shrugged. "Okay," I whispered, knowing I'd be fine sooner than she thought. Next time I woke up, I'd be able to fly and move effortlessly.

"Visiting hours are starting," the nurse told me. "Your family should be here soon." With that, she left, leaving me alone for a minute before the flock walked in, Sara running in front.

"Nick!' she shouted, jumping up onto the bed, landing next to my stomach.

"Hey, sweetie," I whispered. The rest of the flock had decided to wait their turns.

"Hi guys," I said plainly. They all smiled and nodded, making me feel uncomfortable.

"We're sorry," Max said. "About, you know, putting you in the hospital."

"It was my fault," I said, hugging Sara gently. "I attacked you. You just defended each other."

"Well, that wasn't your fault either," Fang said. "It was Ari's, really."

I nodded slowly.

"Does it hurt?" Sara asked, pointing towards my leg.

"Nah," I said. "I just won't move it until I've healed up."

Sara was beaming at me- when I felt my vision go hazy red. I groaned, and Sara put her hand on my chest.

"What's wrong?" she asked, scared. My vision instantly returned to normal, and I blinked stupidly.

"Sara," I whispered. "You got rid of it."

"Got rid of what?" she asked, cocking her head in an adorable gesture.

"The monster..." I said, dumbfounded. I looked up at the flock, hoping they'd get it. "The monster left."

Everybody stood still, thinking, and then gasped. Angel instantly began cheering.

"Yay!" she shouted. "So now you can come with us again!" She smiled gleefully at me, but then frowned. "Right?"

"That's not up to me, Angel," I said sadly.

"Of course it is," Max piped up. "It's your choice. Nobody's stopping you." I looked up at Max. Her mind was actually hoping I'd come with them. Everyone else seemed hopeful on various levels.

"You want me to come with you?" I asked quietly. Looks were exchanged before a chorus of "yes" came.

I looked down at Sara, still in my left arm, which was still in a cast. "How about it Sara?" I asked her. "You wanna stay with the flock?"

She looked at me, then at the flock, a doubtful face crossing her features.

"Sara," I whispered. "These are the people I trust most in the world. I would never fight them. That time I did, it wasn't me. You'll be safe."

Sara mulled it over, her face scrunching up cutely, before she nodded. "Sure," she chirped. I smiled and nodded.

We'd love to come," I said, smiling. This was met with a round of cheers.

I lay there and rested my body throughout the rest of the day, talking to Sara. She hid extraordinarily, so even when visiting hours were over, she was able to lay by my side, my fingers trailing through her chocolaty hair.

"Nick," she asked me later that night, when the flock had left and hidden in some trees nearby. "Where are we going to go?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, sweetie," I whispered. As long as we were with the flock, such a thing didn't matter to me. "We'll go wherever the flock goes."

"Why do you care about them so much, even though they hurt you?" she asked me.

"Because," I whispered. "They're some of the only people I know who haven't treated me like trash." She looked at me as though she was trying to figure me out and I held her closer. I told her everything then, every painful detail. My entire life story, taking at least two hours to tell, and now she knew it all. She held me tighter every time I got to a painful part, and I rubbed her head gently. Telling her all of my story had tired me out, so I slowly went to sleep, her head resting on my stomach.

In the morning, I was fully awake, feeling fine, no pain- and everything worked. After discarding my casts, I snuck out the hospital window, Sara trailing behind drowsily. I stared up at the still sleeping flock, Fang being the only one awake. He was taking watch- and yet he'd never seen or heard me. Was I honestly that quiet? I though the white hair would have been pretty eye-catching, too.

"Fang," I whispered. His head shot down, and he almost fell off his branch with surprise. Sara giggled at the look on his face.

"When did you get there?" he asked, his face returning to its basic emotionless look.

"Five seconds ago," I told him.

"Shouldn't you be healing?" he asked, noting that my casts had disappeared. I shook my head, flexing my arms and legs, flapping my wings gently. Everything moved no worse than when I'd last used them, if not better.

"How?" he asked simply. I shrugged, feeling awkward talking to him with the others still asleep. Sara was tugging on my gown, and I looked down realizing I was still clad in hospital garments. All of my clothes were in my backpack.

"I'm gonna go get some clothes," I whispered. "I'll be back before you leave." He nodded briefly, and I turned to leave. Before I left, I paused.

"Fang..." I whispered. He turned to me, lowering his eyes to match mine.

"I have a question," I said, pausing to see if I should continue. Fang nodded, and I sucked in a breath nervously.

"How do you feel when you're around Max?" I asked him. His eyes narrowed, and he was silent. "I want to know if it's the same way I feel like when I'm with her," I told him. He stared down at me, his eyes masking the questions reeling through his mind. Sara stared up at him, a look of interest on her face.

After a long, awkwardly silent moment, he asked "How do you feel around her?"

I shook my head. "It's hard to describe," I whispered. He stared at me, not caring. "It's like... I feel stronger, and yet, weaker. I feel... invincible, but vulnerable. I feel braver, but horrified. I don't... I don't really know what I feel; I just know what kind of person I want to be. It's like... It's like I've reached the unreachable..." I took a deep breath. "...but I'm not ready for it."

I'd looked down in the middle of my speech, and when I looked up at Fang, his glare was petrifying. It was like he wanted to kill me, and I didn't need to read his mind to know he did. The words "cold-blooded" flowed through my head as I looked at him.

I coughed uncomfortably, and turned to go back into the hospital room, Sara running behind me. I'd seen my backpack in a corner of the room, so it should've still been there.

I held Sara against my torso and leapt up through the window to my room. I found a surprise when I entered- Max.

"When did you get here?" I asked her.

"As soon as you left," she replied, her blond hair falling over her face as she stood backup. (the book says she's a brunette, but her hair on the covers is blond, as is her hair in the graphic novels. Two to one.)

"Did you hear us talking?" I asked embarrassedly.

"Hear you talking with who?" she asked me, looking at me through her hair. I reached over and flicked it behind her ear, and said

"Fang." She stared at me, shocked with my actions, and I said "I can't see your face through it."

"So? I'm still here," she said.

"But your face is wonderful to look at. You're beautiful," I said honestly. I heard grumbling behind me- Fang. Max's face flushed, she hadn't heard Fang, but I guess she was embarrassed for me to say that.

"Doesn't Fang ever tell you that?" I asked her, and Fang's grumbling became a low, animalistic growling. I ignored him keeping my gaze on Max.

"No," she said. "Nobody's ever told me that."

"Well, Fang thinks it all the time," I told her, before slapping myself in the face. Crap. Me and my big muzzle- er, mouth.

"Really?" Max said, her eyes widening and her cheeks reddening. I nodded. Fang was silent, but his thoughts towards me were too horrific to repeat.

I turned around, suddenly angry at Fang. "Do I insult your mother?" I shouted. Fang glared at me, murderous intent in his eyes. Max looked at me, remembered I could read minds, and sighed.

"When you read someone's thoughts," she whispered. "Keep them to yourself. You might make somebody angry." I nodded, turning back towards her. Silence was instantly followed, other than Fang's unmistakable threats and angry comments. I turned again and shouted "Well, so are you!" Max cast me a funny look, and then handed me my pack.

"Thanks," I said sheepishly, digging out a clean pair of jeans and a black sweater. She left through the window, leaving me to change. Sara turned away, giggling.

"You guys are so silly," she chuckled.

In a couple of hours, we'd taken to the skies, headed to, of all places, New York City. Why? Because the flock wanted to. There was a place there called "The Institute" where the flock was convinced they'd learn of their pasts, their parents. I couldn't have cared much less, they were there, and that was all I needed. But Sara had seemed pretty interested as well, and we were traveling with the flock, so we went along.

We were all flying, enjoying the breeze flowing through our feathers, when suddenly Max froze in the air. I felt it then- a mind-boggling pain in my head that felt like craters were being blown into my brain, like knives were piercing it, like it was being stomped on by a dinosaur- and I screamed in pain, before flying below Max and cathing her as we fell. From the sounds she was making, I could tell she was feeling it too. She sounded like a kitten, mewling, clamping her hands against her head as we plummeted. I rolled us so that I was below her, and we collided with the ground violently. My landing below her had lessened the impact on her, but she was unconscious- and I slowly felt myself become the same.

Notice how Nick keeps fainting at the end of each chapter? Maybe I oughta stop that...


	15. Chapter 15

Theanimedude: Sorry for the long wait. I wanted to make this a long chapter... but I didn't work on it much.

Remember to **REVIEW!**

Nick the Eraser chapter 15

I stirred slowly, my eyes fluttering open. Max was staring down at me, a worried look on her face.

"Hey," I whispered my headache now down to a normal one. Say, one caused from stress, not caused by the kind of virus you get moments before you die.

"You okay?" Max asked, her voice quiet. I nodded, wincing at the pain in my wings. I'd landed with them spread wide, and I'd taken Max's fall. So yeah, they hurt. Everything else felt fine, though.

I sat up, flapping my wings gently. They were a little jarred, and they still hurt like heck, but they moved fine.

"Well, that's good to hear," Max said suddenly. I looked up at her.

"What is?" I asked.

"Your wings are fine, like you said," she said, eyeing me peculiarly.

"I didn't say anything," I said, eyeing Max the same way. She laughed, a short sort of snort, and grinned.

"Of course you did," she said.

"No, he didn't," Iggy said, stepping up next to me as I stood up.

"But I heard you!" she said, looking from me to the rest of the flock. "I heard him!"

"Waitaminute, waitaminute," I broke in. "I didn't say anything." Max looked at me, looking as though she thought she was going insane.

"... But I did think it," I said slowly.

Everyone stood still, processing this.

"You... thought it," Gazzy confirmed. I nodded.

"ZOMG," Nudge whispered.

"What does this mean?" Iggy asked, his blind eyes alarmed, looking past my shoulder.

"I think," I started. "I think... I think it means Max can read minds."

Max stood frozen stiff. "What...?" she said intelligently. "But I... it doesn't work now..."

"Yeah," Angel popped in. "You could read Nick's mind, but not our minds."

"Nick, think something random," Max said.

_Random? _I thought. _Okay... cookies and milk?_

"Cookies and milk," Max said. I nodded.

"So... how come you can only read Nick's mind?" Fang asked, his expression never changing. He'd been giving Max and me the silent treatment since early this morning.

_Because you two are linked, _my voice piped in. My head throbbed, and I held it in one hand. Max did the same.

_Who said that? _Max thought.

_I've had this... voice in my head for some time now,_ I thought to her.

_Apparently we're linked, and can both hear it now._

_That's right. Some sort of relation between you two allowed your minds to connect in a sense. Like twins, _the voice said.

_Twins? _Max thought.

_Like maybe creepy wizard twins, _I thought. _Is this even possible? Honestly._

_It's happening, isn't it? _The voice responded. _Even so, this is interesting. __**I**__ didn't even see this coming._

I shook my head, and looked up at Max. She shook her head as well, and everybody looked at us like we were insane.

"What the heck is going on?" Iggy shouted. "How come you're so quiet?"

"We're... having a conversation," I said, not letting on anything more. Max nodded.

"Oh, but you won't speak it, huh?" Gazzy said mischievously. "Private stuff, eh?"

Max glared at him, and I stared blankly up at her.

"In any case," Max said slowly. "We've got places to be. Nick, can you fly?"

I nodded, and winced as I extended my wings. They were already healing, but still a little pained. I shrugged the pain off quickly, and grinned.

33333

We'd taken to the skies, but found ourselves wanting to find a place to land only moments afterward. Max and I were feeling like our old selves, much to the relief of the flock. We tried not to take advantage of our mind-conversation power, as we didn't really have anything private to talk about. When I finally realized what Gazzy had meant, I nearly fell out of the sky. Max was like a sister, nothing like that! Besides, she was practically taken. Although Fang hadn't made a move-

Thank god for mind blocks. If Max or Angel had seen what had been going on in my head, I don't know what would have happened.

So there we were, sitting around a fire, eating whatever meat we had, I wasn't really paying attention to what it was. Maybe rabbit? Desert rat? I dunno. But it was food, we were hungry, I didn't care. Sara didn't either. She'd fallen asleep almost as soon as we'd touched down, claiming she wasn't hungry. We'd managed to get a cookie into her before she fell asleep, though. The rest were evenly distributed amongst the flock. Everyone agreed that they were delicious.

It didn't take long for us to decide to get to sleep that night. However, our awakening was kind of rude.

"Yo!" Max shouted early in the morning. "Up and at 'em!

She'd already woken up and started the fire, popping popcorn over it. At first I thought it was a machine gun so I leapt up, but upon realizing it wasn't, I relaxed.

"Popcorn for breakfast," I said, shaking my head and smiling. "Like grits with high self-esteem."

"Exactly," Max said, grinning. It didn't take long for the flock to gather around the fire, glum and drowsy.

After we all ate, we were on our way to the Big Apple. The flock was flying overhead, Sara beside them. I had opted to run, however. I'd flown so often, using my legs had become an almost nonexistent occurrence. So I figured I'd give it a shot. I ran pretty quickly, staying under the flock at all times- when suddenly I felt a small throbbing in my head.

"Max!" I shouted, just before the metaphorical railroad spike once again crashed though my skull. I fell to my knees mid-dash, my arms clenching my head, which was low to the ground now. Max landed on her stomach beside me, and her air was driven from her lungs instantly. Her hands were clamped against her head, same as me.

As we lay there, side by side, images flashed through my head randomly. There were blurred buildings, fuzzy landscapes, unrecognizable people's faces, lots and lots of things, all while fireworks exploded inside of my head.

As soon as it stopped, I shuddered, rolled away from Max, and barfed up half the continent. Ugh. Max was violently sick in the bushes, and the flock had materialized next to us at some point of time.

"What is the **matter **with you two?" Angel asked her eyes wide and fearful.

"Just a bug," I ground out, shakily attempting to rise, but falling again. Sara was instantly by my side, quivering.

"Nick?" she squealed. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," I managed. "Max?"

She was lying in the ground, gasping. Fang walked over to her, his eyes piercing.

"Think we should see a doctor?" he asked her. I didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"Oh, that's a good idea," Max said sarcastically, her voice cracking. "Let's let more people in the authority know about us. I'm fine, let's just go to New York."

Fang stared at her, before motioning for us to take off. Gazzy, Angel, Iggy, Max and Nudge took off, but I grabbed Fang's shoulder. He turned to look at me, and my vision went red. Sara saw my eyes and tapped my hand, and I was back to normal instantly.

"Fang," I whispered. "Can I talk to you?"

"Guys! Let's go!" Nudge shouted from the sky. Fang nodded, shrugged my hand off, and we were off.

33333

"So..." I started. We were a good deal behind the rest of the flock, so as long as I blocked them out, Max and Angel wouldn't hear us. "Why don't you tell Max how you feel?"

He glared at me, and I shook my head. "I won't tell anybody."

"It's **YOU **I don't want knowing," he said.

"Well," I pressed on. "Max already knows somewhat. Thanks to me. So why not tell her? You not telling her just shows her you're afraid."

"I'm not scared of anything," he responded evenly.

"Except for ruining your friendship," I pointed out. "Max and you have been friends since before I even saw you first. You've bonded a lot, but you're still not very open." I sighed, looking down. "Max doesn't like that about you," I murmured, making sure only he heard.

"Why should I care?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Because you love her," I said bluntly. "You should do whatever it takes to make her happy. That includes opening up more."

"What are you suggesting?" he asked, with a still even voice.

"Oh, come on, Fang!" I almost shouted. "You know you do! Pretty soon, if you don't make a move, somebody else will take her!"

"Who in the world is going to take her?" Fang asked.

"There is one person," I said. "Me."

I barely brought my arm up in time to block his punch, and he used the momentum for a roundhouse kick. It connected solidly with my right side, causing me to falter, and then rise.

"Don't kid me or yourself, mutt," Fang ground out. "Max doesn't like you. And besides, you only said that to tick me off."

"When have I ever wanted to tick one of you off?" I asked. "I'm serious, Fang. I love Max too, you know. I'll take her if you don't."

"Not if you're dead, you won't," Fang said, before trying to kick me in the stomach. I dodged backwards, telling Sara to leave. She flew after the flock, her eyes fearful.

"Fang," I said conversationally, as though my life hadn't just been threatened. "You won't kill me. You care about Max too much. Besides, you've got a soft side in there somewhere. You're probably really soft once somebody finds it."

"Your moms really soft!" (1.) Fang said, lunging for me. I dodged backwards, avoiding his reaching hands.

"And yours was a teenager," I shot back, officially annoyed by him.

"Shut up!" he shouted, throwing a right hook towards my face. I caught his fist, and just held it, staring into his eyes calmly. He looked into mine- and froze. His eyes didn't even change, his muscles didn't even move, he just went stone still. He would've fallen had I not been holding his fist.

"Whoa," I said, surprised. "Um, Earth paging Fang. Come in, Fang. You're supposed to say 'Houston, we have a problem' here!"

Not a word. I was officially nervous. In case you were wondering, people don't just freeze mid-fight. It didn't take long for the flock to fly up beside us.

"What are you two fighting over?" Max asked, her hands on her hips. "We're a team, we aren't going to go and tear each other apart!"

"Max," Angel whispered. "Look." Max then realized that Fang was frozen stiff with my hand holding his fist."

"What did you do?" she asked furiously.

"I have no idea," I said honestly. "He tried to punch me and now...he's stiff." I rapped gently on his head with my other hand, trying to snap him out of it.

"Oy," I muttered. "How to wake him up..."

"Let's find a place to land," Max said worriedly. I nodded, holding Fang, and we flew down towards the ground. We were really close to New York now, so whenever we cured Fang, we'd be able to go right in.

_Voice? _I thought. _Got any bright ideas? How the heck did this happen?_

_You did this to him, Nick._

_How?_

_New skill. You froze his brain by looking him in the eye. Kind of like hypnosis, but with limited use._

_Explain, please?_

_You can immobilize anybody by looking them in the eye. Now that you know that you're capable of this, you should have no trouble doing it again._

_Great. Now how about curing him?_

_Strike him forcefully enough to knock him out of it._

_Seriously?_

_Seriously._

"Max," I spoke up. "Punch him in the gut or something."

"What?" she looked at me like I was crazy. "Are you insane?"

"First off, sanity is overrated," I said, quoting the voice. "Second, it's how to wake him up."

"You're not serious."

"I'm serious."

Max shook her head, looking over to Fang. She stared at him a couple seconds before smiling.

"You've been waiting for a chance like this, haven't you?" I accused, my lips curling up slightly. She grinned, nodding. She then brought her fist back and slugged Fang in the stomach. Instantly, he winced, swore, and jumped at her- and then froze.

"What-" he said, startled. He looked from Max to me, back and forth.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Max asked him, smiling innocently.

"Fighting with Nick," he responded, leering at me. "He'd grabbed my fist, and then you were punching me." He then leered at Max. "What was that for?"

"So," Max said, looking at the two of us. "Gonna tell us why you were fighting?"

I looked over at Fang, smirking. He glared at me, before turning to Max and saying "Nothing important."

"We aren't exactly in vacation," Max said matter-of-factly. "If you guys have an issue, then this is going to happen again. Better tell us."

Fang stared at Max for a couple seconds then looked over to me. I smiled, wide-eyed and innocent.

"It's fine," Fang grumbled, scowling at me. I shrugged.

"If he says so," I said.

33333

Soon we were once again in the skies, Fang and I keeping a safe distance from each other. Maybe I'd pressed him too hard. Maybe he's too afraid. But what the heck, like I promised, if he didn't move, I would.

"Nick?" Max said, flying up beside me. I grinned, nodding.

"Could you tell me what that fight was about?" she asked me with scalpel delicateness. I stared at her a couple seconds, knowing that even though I'd tried to get Fang to tell her, it wasn't a good idea to tell her myself. That would get me killed.

"Max," I said, mind blocks still up, "I can't lie to you... but I would rather not say."

"What?" Max said, appalled. "Why can't you tell me?"

"This is an issue that Fang and I are working out together. And you wouldn't be able to help if I told you. It'd probably make it worse." I looked at her after saying that, and she was staring at me like I was crazy.

"I'll just keep my distance from Fang," I suggested. "You'll know what the issue is when the time is right." I then looked away from her. I thought about Fang, about Max. How he loved her, how I loved her. She was beautiful. But Fang couldn't say so. I looked forward and saw that Fang was so far ahead that he wouldn't be able to hear us.

"You know," I whispered, and she flew in closer to hear me. "You're beautiful."

She blushed instantly, and I smiled, before flying ahead of her and the rest of the flock.

1. Nice comeback. Couldn't resist.


	16. Chapter 16

Theanimedude: Chapter 16, I've nothing to say. Most of the plotline belongs to James Patterson. I own Nick, and Sara.

**You want to REVIEW this. You will REVIEW this. I am a Jedi master and you will do as I say! **

**REVIEW **

Nick the Eraser chapter 16

We were finally right above New York, and it was amazing. Such a huge place, and so bright! It was late at night, but it felt like I was staring at the sun. A huge, noisy, multicolored sun.

"That's a lot of people," Fang whispered, flying beside Max. Claustrophobia, they hads it. I can understand, I mean, any one of the people on Manhattan Island could have been an Eraser.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh," Nudge kept squealing. "I love this place! I wanna walk down fifth avenue, I wanna go to museums, I wanna go shopping- I'm hungry!"

"Just remember Nudge," Max said authoritatively. "We're here to look for the institute." I almost looked over at her, but then felt uncomfortable. Telling her she was beautiful had made her feel awkward around me. I fixed my stare on the ground below as we flew closer to the ground. Suddenly I heard music- and we were pretty high up to be hearing music.

Iggy heard it too. "Is that music?" he asked Max. "How could we hear music all the way up here?"

"Must be a concert," Max told him. I wasn't about to let on that I didn't know what a concert was.

"Nick?" Angel broke in, flying next to me, sapphire eyes innocent and trusting. "It's when a group of musicians get together and perform for a lot of people for money."

"Ah," I said, comprehending. "So we're hearing people playing their music for people that paid to see them?"

"Mmhm," Angel responded in a mumble. Sara was flying on the other side of me, staring at Angel intently.

"And _you _look like _me,_" Angel said to her, smiling. Sara looked startled, and then blushed, embarrassed. She'd forgotten Angel could read minds. When they were this close to one another, you could see the very few differences between them. Such as their hair color, Angel blonde, Sara brown, eyes, Angel blue, Sara pale and colorless, and wings, Angel's pure white, Sara's white with black and brown speckles. But their faces and bodies were identical. It was almost like they were twins.

Come to think of it, that was possible. They'd both come from a school, they both had become avian-human hybrids, and they were of the same age. I honestly wondered if they were siblings. That would mean that Gazzy and Angel's parents had a third child.

While I was lost in thought, the flock had opted to fly down and blend with the crownd listening to "The Taylor Twins." I'd never heard of 'em. Then again, I didn't get ut much in my earlier days. All I knew was that my ears hurt. It didn't pay to have hyper senses when directly in front of blaring speakers. I remained silent, however clenched Sara's hand, not wanting to go murderous on an undeserving crowd. Because then the Taylors would have had to give refunds, you know, to the people who hadn't died. Nothing else really would've gone wrong, though. (I've been practicing sarcasm, how'd I do?)

The flock really looked happy, even though I was waiting for my freaking ears to explode. I blocked out mind-readers/linkers, not wanting to put a damper on the mood. I smiled at the sight of Gazzy and Nudge's faces, they were ridiculously happy. But it was good, even though I was in pain, they were happy. Sara tugged on my shirt a one point, and pointed up at Gazzy on Iggy's shoulders shyly. I smiled, lifting her up onto my shoulders, and she squealed happily.

_You know,_ I thought, watching my elated friends. _Maybe it's _not_ that bad._

Once the Taylor's stopped playing and most of the people started leaving, we made our way to a small group of trees, their branches offering a place to crash. I'd never tried, but now was the time, I guess. I hopped up into a tree, holding Sara to my chest, and made sure she was comfortable lying under a jacket I'd pulled from my backpack. She was positioned on a branch, looking drowsy. I turned to talk to Max just as she whispered,

"Good night, big brother." I turned back to look at her, and her face looked as though she was afraid I wouldn't approve. I smiled warmly, tousling her coffee colored hair.

"That's sweet," I whispered. "Good night, Sara." She grinned before closing her eyes, and I turned to talk to Max again.

"You two certainly are close," Max said, suddenly in a branch close to mine. I blinked, before nodding and sitting on my branch next to Sara.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "For-"

"No," Max interrupted. "You shouldn't be sorry. I should be glad you complemented me."

"But now-"

"Now there are no problems," Max interrupted me again. I watched her, looking for a sign saying she was lying, but found none.

"I just don't want you to feel awkward around me," I whispered. "I need you guys right now..."

"I know," she said, turning to me. "And there isn't. Just don't... try anything."

I choked. "Try anything?" I asked in a small voice. "Max, I'm not like that. I just think you're pretty."

"Well, thank you," she said, turning away from me once more. "God knows nobody else thinks so..."

I didn't say a word then. I think we both knew who did. And of course it started raining after that, making Sara jump out of her sleep. She whimpered, after having woken. I sat down next to her and held her gently, shushing her cries gently.

"Nick," she sobbed. "I was so scared."

"It's okay," I said soothingly, rubbing her back gently. "Just a storm, it won't hurt us."

"No," she said, shaking her head, lightning flashing in the distance, illuminating her tear-stained face. "I had a dream that when I woke up, you were gone!"

"No, baby," I whispered, holding her closer. "I'm not leaving. I'll stay right here until you wake up."

"Really?" she whispered, looking up into my eyes.

"Really really," I responded, smiling down at her. I just sat there, holding her in my arm until she spoke up again a few minutes later.

"Big brother," she whispered. "Could you sing to me?"

I'd heard very few songs, and all of them were sad. But I suddenly was hit with a song I'd never heard- and it was perfect.

I held her, making sure she was comfortable, before I took my first ever shot at singing.

little child, be not afraid  
>though rain pounds harshly against the glass<br>like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger  
>I am here tonight<p>

little child, be not afraid  
>though thunder explodes and lightning flash<br>illuminates your tear-stained face  
>I am here tonight<p>

and someday you'll know  
>that nature is so<br>the same rain that draws you near me  
>falls on rivers and land<br>on forests and sand  
>makes the beautiful world that you'll see<br>in the morning

little child, be not afraid  
>though storm clouds mask your beloved moon<br>and its candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams  
>I am here tonight<p>

little child, be not afraid  
>though wind makes creatures of our trees<br>and their branches to hands, they're not real, understand  
>and I am here tonight<p>

for you know, once even I was a  
>little child, and I was afraid<br>but a gentle someone always came  
>to dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears<br>and to give a kiss goodnight

well now I am grown  
>and these years have shown<br>that rain's a part of how life goes  
>but it's dark and it's late<br>so I'll hold you and wait  
>'til your frightened eyes do close<p>

and I hope that you'll know...

everything's fine in the morning  
>the rain'll be gone in the morning<br>but I'll still be here in the morning

Sara's eyes had closed, and she was sleeping blissfully in my arms. I smiled down at her, so cute and vulnerable. But I'd protect her with the same life I'd protect Max with- my own.

"That was beautiful," Max said from beside me. "It was like you were made for it." I shrugged, happy to be complemented.

"Yeah, Nick," Angel's voice came through from another branch. I'd thought she was asleep. "You were great."

"Awesome," Gazzy said from another branch.

"Really good," Iggy agreed.

"Great-" Nudge started, before closing her mouth as though it'd been slammed closed and grinning sheepishly. Guess who didn't say one-

"You were really good," Fang said from another branch above us, smirking.

"T-Thanks guys," I said, happy. "I'm glad you think so." I lay down beside Sara on our branch after that, warmth flowing through me.

Credits:

Lullaby for a Stormy Night - Vienna Teng


	17. Chapter 17

Thanimedude: I'm back with the seventeenth chapter. I'd like to say something first, though. I received a rather... colorful review recently. (my first flame) This review called me a large series of inappropriate names, claiming I had stolen their story and telling me to take it down. This review, however, was marked "anonymous." Therefore, I have no clue as to who left the review. Probably some kid at my school. But to whoever it was, if my story is truly close to your plotline, I apologize. This is purely coincidence.

Fang: Wow. I've never seen you this serious-

Theanimedude: Feather!

Fang: Son of a duck!

Nick: I'm just gonna leave now… whenever you don't review, Ari kills a kitten.

Sara: Meow.

**Review!weiveR**

Nick the Eraser chapter 17

I'd woken up at dawn pondering the previous night. I had sung a song I'd never heard, let alone had time to learn the lyrics to, when I'd had no clue what to sing to Sara. I, in fact, had never sung in my life up to that point. I suppose it could have been a new skill, but hadn't I kind of overloaded on those lately?

Sara was still asleep, as was the rest of the flock, so I decided to stay where I was, listening around to the sounds that came oh so naturally out in the real world. Outside of the school, I mean. I gritted my teeth together upon thinking of the school, realizing and appreciating (not) just how horrible they were for the first time. I mean, they were kidnapping children, mixing them with various different animals' genes, and seeing their results- which were usually the death of the "experiment." They had no right to take lives.

_You're very good at keeping a good heart, Nick._

_Oh. You again. 'Sup, _I thought at my voice- well, our voice, mine and Max's.

_Your singing abilities come from your body, Nick. Your genetic material is made so that even before you were genetically altered, you were able to sing skillfully. _

_So, this comes from me, not some vocal cord operation?_

_That's what I mean._

_Hm. Something nice about me that didn't come from the whitecoats. That's new and unusual._

The voice was silent afterwards, and I sighed, hearing birds chirping, leaves rustling, and police sirens- which for some reason, made my heart freeze. I looked down from my branch, and saw blue and white cars with red sirens blaring, and passing by. I looked in the direction of the siren, and my mind flashed back to the last day I'd heard a siren.

When Max left me...

I shook my head, blinking rapidly, as the other flock members began to stir.

_Get it together, _I thought to myself. _There's nothing wrong. Make your best "completely fine" face. There is nothing-_

"What's wrong, Nick?" Max asked, rising from her branch. Crap.

"Nothing," I responded quickly. "It doesn't matter."

I hadn't put up mind blocks, and there was nothing keeping Max from peeking into my head. Max looked at me for a couple seconds, and then sighed.

"I'm sorry," she told me quietly. "For-"

"It's done," I told her. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Then why?" she asked, and that was the very question I'd been asking myself. I remained silent, though I pondered the answer in my head. It had just been a really traumatic moment for me... for six years; I became as silent and as final as the grave. All because of losing Max. It was scary that she could have that effect on me.

But as far as I knew, that was the worst she'd done in her life, and she had apologized repetitively. Besides, it had been an accident.

"You're forgiven anyway," I said, turning to her and smiling. My shift in movement had woken Sara from her sleep, and she blinked up at me, before her face broke into a grin, her brown wisps of hair flicking out of her face.

"Hi, big brother!" she shouted, startling me and jumping up into my arms. I hugged her to my chest, laughing.

"Hey, Sara," I said, a lot quieter than her, tousling her hair. I'd made a routine of doing so. She giggled in her high, chirpy voice.

"What are we gonna do today?" she asked me.

"I don't know," I said, turning to Max. "What **are** we gonna do today?"

"Walk around until we find the institute," Max said.

"Now there's a plan," Iggy murmured. Max shot him a look, though it was wasted on his blind eyes. I grinned at the thought- though sight was something I valued; the loss of it could protect you as well.

_Somewhat like the flock, hmm Nick?_

_Oh, for crap's sake, voice, shut up._

3-3-3-3-3

After we left the trees, things got into the dynamics really quickly. As in, at one point it's really calm, and then things got really hectic, and then thins were calm again, and somehow we ended up at the zoo.

"The zoo!" Nudge shouted ecstatically, her eyes sparkling. "OMG!"

"Is that a lion?" Ig asked. "I hope it's behind bars.

"It's a zoo, Ig," Nudge said. "Everything's behind bars."

_Just like you guys used to be, _I thought bitterly, and Max nodded, her thoughts mirroring mine.

It didn't take me long to find myself engrossed in an area where the animals that lived in colder climates presided. Why, pray tell? Because I found something that amazed me more than almost anything- arctic tundra wolves. They were my species. They were my people. They were forty-nine percent of me. There they stood, majestic and powerful, with teeth that could tear any animal to shreds. I stood there in front of them, and I was only aware of them. The flock had gone to search elsewhere for animals to their liking, and everybody in this area had left.

Slowly, all of them turned their heads to stare at me.

_Hello, brother, _I heard one think. _You are amongst us, yes?_

_Yes,_ I breathed the thought, somehow knowing they'd hear it. _How-?_

_You bare the scent of our leader, _another thought. _You are our pack's leader._ I froze. These arctic tundra wolves had lived in another climate before being brought here. They had all lived in a pack, but were abducted. Their leader had gotten to the school, but the others wound up here. And now- this pack's leader's DNA had been implanted in me. These wolves saw me as their leader.

Without knowing, I jumped over the bar that separated me from my pack, morphing as I went. I'd only be half wolf then, but it was enough. However- as I neared them- my morph changed. As I walked towards them, I dropped from two legs to four. Startled, I looked down at myself, and gasped.

"No way," I breathed in my human voice. But I was not human. I'd become fully arctic tundra wolf.

_Welcome home, _the wolves chorused. _Welcome home._

_._

3-3-3-3-3

"Can we leave?" I asked the flock, trying not to whine. That would be very unbecoming of a leader. "I just… want to get out of here."

"You look kind of green," the Gasman said with interest.

"Yeah, so can we split before I upchuck in front of these impressionable kids?" I asked, starting to feel nauseated.

"Where's Nick?" Fang asked, doing a 360 degree check, and then frowning. I did the same. Hadn't he been with us just a couple minutes ago?

_I'm over here,_ his voice said in my head, making me jump.

_Where?_ I thought back to him. _I'm kind of freaking out now, so please just come out._

_I am too, _he thought, and his voice sounded scared. _I-I don't know what to do._

_What's the problem? _I asked, my muscles tensing. _Where's the fire?_

_Right to your left, _he said, and that's where I looked. All I saw was an exhibit of- arctic tundra wolves.

_Not funny, Nick,_ I thought/growled in my head.

_No, really, _he said, sounding worried. _I'm close to the glass, and I'm staring at you._

Sure enough, one of the wolves was staring at me through the glass. It looked frightened, and its eyes were sapphire colored. I inhaled sharply, almost falling into Fang.

"Shouldn't we be looking for Nick?" Fang asked me.

"You're looking at him," I whispered unevenly. The flock turned to see Nick staring at us through the glass, their eyes widening.

"Nick?" Sara gasped, running up to the glass and bracing her palms against it.

"Freaky new ability you got there, Nick," I said, walking up to the glass.

"Yeah, well," he said through the glass, and it was creepy because his wolf mouth was moving, but his voice was entirely the same as his normal voice. "I'm not sure how to turn back." His voice sounded like it might break, and he was really worried we weren't going to take him with us.

"Alright," I sighed, forcing myself to sound frustrated while freaking out inside. "We'll find a way to get out with nobody around it."

"There," Fang said, his voice surprisingly even, pointing to a path that must have been used for zookeepers, because it was empty. Nick hopped the metal bar and trotted alongside us as we walked out hastily, with nobody seeing or following us.

3-3-3-3-3

_Gazzy, quit that,_ I thought._ It's just weird. _

"Gazzy, Nick says to stop petting him," Max said, speaking for me. Turns out most dogs don't talk in the real world, even with the whole sanity being overrated thing. So Max was being my translator as we walked through New York. I was still wearing my backpack, which looked weird on me, but it had my clothes and money in it. The money the flock could use, and the clothes were for in case I ever changed back.

"Sorry," Gazzy said, withdrawing his hand from my head. "I've just never had a dog before."

"Nick says he doesn't like being referred to as a dog," Max said. "And that his ear itches."

Gazzy's hand scratched at my ear once more, and I pulled away, yipping.

"That means thanks," Max said.

"You could be on that one TV show," Iggy said. "The Dog Whisperer." I nipped at his leg and he jumped away.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Forgot, you're not a dog."

"Nick's really Nick in there, right?" Sara asked, walking beside me, really close to me.

"Of course," Max said. "He just looks a little different on the outside is all." I nudged Sara with my nose, growling playfully, and she giggled.

Suddenly I froze. I then darted away, leaving the flock behind. I was in hot pursuit of a heavenly scent.

"Nick!" Max shouted, chasing after me, the flock just behind her. "Get back here! And don't you "no" me, boy!" I continued running, my tongue lolling out as I ran. Oh my gourd, it smelled awesome!

I finally skidded to a halt in front of a bakery, panting softly. The flock came up behind me, and Max gasped.

"Cookies," she whispered, and the flock inhaled the scent.

"We must have cookies," Max said, and I nodded in agreement.

3-3-3-3-3

Later that night, we'd all stopped at a beach, and I'd stayed as far from the sea as possible. Didn't want a repeat of the lake in California now, did we? So while the flock and Sara had fun splashing around, I laid myself down comfortably in the sand. Max was sitting next to me, watching the flock with a smile on her face.

"Thank you," I whispered, and her head turned to me.

"What for?" she asked, staring at my doglike form.

"For letting me stay even though…" I gestured to myself, looking up into her eyes.

"We never would have left you because of that, Nick," she said, sounding as though she was disappointed I doubted her. I looked up at her, projecting a smile into her head, before laying my head on the sand.

Of course, that was when Gazzy splashed me.


	18. Chapter 18

Theanimedude: Guys, hide! Right now!

Fang: What for?

Theanimedude: My worst enemy has just appeared, and he's going to change our lives forever!

Nick: This sounds serious! Who is it?

Theanimedude: **Abraham Lincoln.**

Nick and Fang: ...

Fang: Uh, didn't he end slavery or something?

Theanimedude: Exactly.

Nick: So, really, we have nothing to be afraid of. In fact, we might be free soon!

Theanimedude: (vein bulges on forehead) Feather.

Nick and Fang: Meep! (Instantly hide in closet)

Theanimedude: I only own Nick and Sara.

Nick the Eraser chapter 18

"Pwah!" Gazzy shouted as the salty water came back and hit him in the face. I looked up from my flinching position, completely dry. WTH?

"May I ask what just happened?" I asked, standing up and staring at Gazzy. He looked at me, bewilderment and anger on his face.

"I should say the same thing!" Gazzy said, glaring at me. "I splashed you! Why'd I get wet?"

"I dunno," I replied simply, shrugging my front legs. Nothing really surprised me anymore. "New skill?" Max glared at Gazzy, her no-nonsense face back on.

"Gazzy," she said started slowly. "Do you know what would have happened had you managed to splash Nick?" He stared at her dumbly.

"Um, he would've gotten wet?" he said, not really getting it.

"No," Max corrected him. "He would've exploded." Gazzys eyes widened with realization.

"Oh, geez, I'm sorry!" he shouted, holding his hands up in front of him.

"S'okay," I said, laying back down in the sand.

"So now you repel water, too?" Max asked me.

"Apparently," I said before yawning. When I yawned, my mouth opened wide and you could see all of my canine teeth.

"How much do you think it works?" Max asked, looking from me to the ocean. I shrugged before standing up and walking to the shoreline. I slipped on the way there.

"Ugh," I groaned. "Everything's harder on all fours." Iggy snickered, filling a bucket with salt water.

"I'm gonna dump this on her," Iggy told me with a grin. My eyes widened, but I didn't say a word. I just walked straight into the water and- get this- it went around me. Wherever I went, it was like I had a big bubble of oxygen around me, and the water couldn't get through.

_This certainly makes my weakness void, _I thought to myself, running in different directions in the water.

"Agh!" I heard a shout from the sand, and I looked up to see Max completely drenched. I loved Max like a sister but... seeing the look on her face made me bust my sides laughing.

"Get over here!" she yelled at Iggy, sounding angry. She started chasing him across the beach, and the rest of us were laughing our heads off. I watched them from the ocean before looking down at myself. I still looked like a wolf. I wondered if I was ever going to be able to go back to my at least somewhat human form.

I'd checked, and I still had wings. But I'd never tried flying as an arctic tundra wolf. I thought this to myself, smiling inwardly.

_Time for practice,_ I thought, spreading my wings and running forward. For a couple seconds, it was hard to get a good rhythm in my motion, and I faltered, but I quickly got the hang of it and was running as fast as I did at top speed in normal form- about four hundred miles per hour.

I jumped mid-dash, flapped my wings, and I was UP, baby! Flying as an arctic tundra wolf was entirely different. I could feel the wind moving through my fur as I soared over the ocean, watching Max chase Iggy. When she caught him, she threw him to the ground, and then wrung her hair out in his face. I started laughing again as I neared the ground, landing with a _fwoosh _of air as I tucked my wings in. The flock looked over to me, all of them laughing, and it felt so good. To see them all laughing, to be having a good time with them. I knew how much I'd hate losing that. I smiled before laying down in the sand under the starry sky, the waves lolling me to sleep.

3-3-3-3-3

Max POV

Sometime late at night, when the rest of the flock was sleeping, I stood watch, staring at the ocean. When I was sitting there, I heard a faint whimpering sound from my right. I looked- and to my complete surprise, saw Nick. He was still asleep, and he'd somehow gone back to his normal form, fully clothed in his usual outfit of a black t-shirt and jeans.

But the boy was shaking in his sleep, making little whimpering sounds, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"No," he kept whispering. "No, no, no."

I realized he was having a nightmare, and a really bad one that. I reached over and patted his shoulder, and he bolted upright, his eyes looking wild and frenzied. He looked at me with an expression that could only be described as complete and total fear before throwing his arms around me.

My typical response to somebody outside of the flock touching me would have been slapping their hand away and punching them in the face. But something told me to just hug him back for now. He was trembling as he held me, sobbing and gasping for air occasionally.

"No," he whispered again. "Don't." His head was to jumbled up to read his mind, so I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

_Fear is one of your only weaknesses,_ the voice suddenly said to me. _Just look at what the slightest bit of exploitation of that fear can do to you._

_Fear? What fear? Nick isn't afraid of anything. He's taken down erasers without even flinching, he's shot down a helicopter that was right in front of him, and he almost even killed Ari- twice._

_Fear doesn't have to be of something physical. It could be emotional or psychological, and that is where Nick's ONE fear resides._

_And what's that one fear?_

_Nick is afraid of losing you._

I froze, feeling Nicks body trembling against me. Nick was so afraid of losing me that just dreaming about it reduced him to this. It was somewhat touching, but terrible.

"I'm not leaving you," I whispered in his ear, which was easy since his head was on my shoulder.

He shuddered against me before leaning away from me, the tears finally stopping flowing. He lay back down in the sand before he fell asleep. I put my hand on his back, rubbing it gently, before waking Fang up. It was his watch.


	19. Chapter 19

Theanimedude: Nick, Fang, come here.

Fang: What is it?

Theanimedude: I've got something I need you two to do today.

Nick: Okay, shoot.

Theanimedude: Fang, I don't want to hear any of your sarcastic crap, you hear me?

Fang: ... I can only promise to try.

Theanimedude: Okay, Abe's still out there-

Nick: Abraham Lincoln?

Theanimedude: Yes. He's near here, and I don't want to get caught with you in my possession. So I need you to-and follow me on this- put me in a coma.

Nick: ...Put you in a coma.

Theanimedue: Yup.

Fang: And there's no drawback whatsoever to this, right?

Theanimedude: (short consideration) I will not tickle you.

Nick: Oddly specific...

Theanimedude: So I'm thinking something like a sleeping drug, something that won't cause me pain, and you only do it when I'm read-

Fang: (chops Theanimedude's neck with the side of his hand)

Theanimedude: (as he loses consciousness) YOU ARE **SO** TICKLED, FANG!

Fang: Figures.

Nick: So... what now?

Fang: Now you give the disclaimer and the readers will read.

Nick: Oh, right. Theanimedude owns me and Sara, and that is it. And he wasn't planning on trying to get this up so soon, (scheduled for April) but he got a wonderful review from Ella Phantom/ SwiftslashxLeafstorm. Reviews like that make his world brighter- and he tickles us less! So **REVIEW **the crap out of this story with words of kindness and admiration! Pease! Do it for the slaves!

Fang: ... Uh, what he said.

**REVIEWEIVER**

I woke up the next morning earlier than the rest of the flock. It was four o clock, by the sun. We planned on moving at seven, so I had a lot of extra time to myself.

It was currently Nudge's watch, and I tapped her shoulder and told her to go ahead and get some sleep. She nodded before lying down on the sand, falling asleep quickly. I stared out at the ocean, as blue as my eyes, stunningly beautiful. Even though it was way early, I could see the sun rising. I never got to see anything like this, what with having been grown up in captivity. I'd never been in a dog cage, for some strange reason. I was given a room, however small, and a stuffed fox. Sparky seemed so unimportant now. I remembered the day I'd learned Max had left, when I'd ripped the thing to shreds, thinking it made me look weaker. I'd killed so many erasers, and every so often, whitecoats. They hadn't mattered at the time. They were the ones who had forced me to stay there. Thinking back, the only reason I hadn't broken out of the school was because I wouldn't have known how to live.

But enough with the back-story. Back to the present. Max startled me when she sat down next to me, staring out at the ocean.

"It really is nice, isn't it?" she asked me. I nodded in reply, not knowing if she saw.

"Are you okay?" she asked me, looking over to me. "Like last night..."

"I'm sorry," I muttered, clenching my hands on my jeans. She looked at me with bewilderment before shaking her head.

"No," she said. "I didn't want an apology. I wanted to..." she almost stuttered on the words. "... Talk it out."  
>"You sure?" I asked her, facing her now. She nodded briefly, locking her eyes on mine. Man, those eyes...<p>

"What was your dream about?" she asked me, sounding as though she was talking to one of the younger members in her flock. I sighed.

"It started at the school," I began. "We were all captive and being tortured. I knew you were in pain. All of you were. I tried to stop them so many times, but I couldn't. I finally got loose when I had a murderous phase, and the scientists let me go... but I-I..." I choked on the words in my throat as I said them. "... I wound up killing you."

Max nodded, asking me to continue. "I got angry, and then I blew up the school. The flock was so mad. They didn't kill me though. They just left me there, crying over your dead body in the rubble." I shuddered, trying to keep control of my voice.

"I was wishing they'd killed me," I said honestly. "I didn't want to live- I didn't deserve to live after I killed you." Then I put my head on my knees and cried. Max's hand was gliding up and down my back, comforting me.

"That'll never happen," Max said certainly. "For one thing, you have Sara blocking those murderous outbreaks now." I looked down at Sara's sleeping form, smiling slightly.

"And," she continued. "I'm never going back to the school. I've got you guarding me." She punched me in the shoulder, making me laugh a little before looking back down at my knees.

"But..." I whispered. "Would you ever..." Max read my mind, and her face softened again.

"I told you last night, Nick," Max whispered. "I'm not leaving you. I never will. But-" she held up one hand, looking at me seriously. "That means you can't leave us either. Got that?" I nodded, smiling.

"It's a pact, then," Max said, shaking my hand like a professional. At this, I burst out laughing.

3-3-3-3-3

After we checked a library for anything about the institute, coming up with nothing, we were all very tired because it was late at night. We decided to take the subway back to central park, because Angel was nowhere near 100%, and Nudge kept asking.

We were waiting in the subway tunnels, underground, waiting for the dang thing to come. Ten minutes passed and it didn't look like anything was coming. And Fang, Max and Iggy looked like they were about to start climbing the walls, what with them being in a dark, enclosed place. Sara didn't like it much either. Even with me holding her, she was shaking.

"Something's gonna come and get us," she whispered to me.

"Like in a horror movie?" Nudge asked, eyes wide. "N-No, you're just a little bit scared of nothing..." Iggy suddenly turned his head, focusing on something.

"People," he whispered, pointing towards the tracks. "In there."

Nudge's eyes bulged more, and she shook her head rapidly.

"Don't talk like that," she said franticly. "Stop trying to scare me!"

"I hear it too," I said slowly, hearing voices somewhere down the tunnel. "Doesn't sound like workers..."

"Stop that!" Nudge said in a scolding, way. "Scary!" Looking sown the path, we saw what looked like the flickering of a fire. Sara reached out for it from my arms, though she was far from reaching it.

"Cold," she whispered, burying her head in my shirt. I wondered if she was too old for that, but dismissed the thought quickly as I held her tighter. I looked over to Max, who made a snap decision.

"Let's go," she said with a shrug, and then we jumped off the platform and ran into the darkness. Nudge made a whimpering sound, and was the last to go, but she caught up quickly. Guess she was afraid.

3-3-3-3-3

As we walked, Gazzy saw a sign that Sara and I were unable to read. Apparently it said "Stay off the third rail!"

"What does that mean?" Gazzy asked nobody in particular.

"It means that the third rail has seven hundred volts of direct current running through it," Fang said informatively. "Touch it and you're human popcorn."

"Good tip," Max said. "Everyone stay off the third rail- Nick!" she suddenly shouted at me. I was leaning down to touch it and jumped.

"Yeah, Max?" I said, looking over at her.

"Did you not just hear us talking?" she asked me with an authoritative voice. "Touch that thing and you're dead."

"Nah," I said dismissively. "I'll be fine." I reached down and- YOW! I jumped back from the electricity suddenly flowing into me. I laughed like a kid that just got a free ticket to Disney World.

"That. Was. Awesome!" I giggled uncharacteristically. The flock stared at me with an 'are you out of your flipping mind' look before Max slapped her forehead.

"Ugh," she groaned. "Yeah. Forgot you could absorb electricity." I nodded, standing up from my sitting position, still laughing.

"Can I do it again?" I asked hopefully.

"Let's not waste time," Max said, shaking her head and smiling slightly. I frowned, but followed anyways.

"Nick?" Sara said, looking up at me, still in my arms. "You're hair's standing up."

"It is? I asked, running a hand through it, pushing it down. "Must've been from static."

"Or the rail."

"Yeah, could've been the rail."

"Probably was."

"You're probably right."

"Of course I am, I'm six. We're always right."

"Dang straight," Angel broke in, suddenly walking beside me.

_I know there's some logic missing there, _I thought to myself. Max nodded, reading my mind.

_**You would not believe how many times Angel's been wrong,**_Max thought at me, blocking out everyone (cough cough Angel cough cough) except me.

_Try me._

_**She used to believe in superstition.**_

_How'd you correct that?_

_**I told her that stepping on a crack was in no way associated with people's backs. And I told her that breaking mirrors didn't give you bad luck. But she argued saying that if she broke a mirror, she'd be sent to timeout.**_

_Really? Wow... that's pretty funny._

_**It sure cracked Iggy up.**_

_Got any other stories like that?_

_**Well, one time Angel had put on her shoes, left shoe right foot, and right shoe left foot. I told her she had her shoes on the wrong feet, and she said she didn't have any others.**_

_Niiiice..._

_**Isn't it? And this other time-**_

"Train!" I shouted, and just like I said, it nearly plowed into us. I held Sara tight against the wall so that my back was to the train until it finally passed.

"Ouch," she whispered when I pulled away from the wall.

"Sorry, Sara," I whispered. "Better than having all of your bones broken though, right?"

"Definitely," she said, her eyes widening.

"Good," I responded, hugging her to me.

"Well, that was fairly nerve-racking," Max said as she peeled herself from the wall.

"Who's there?" a voice that sounded querulous and rough rang out through the tunnel.

"Nobody," Max called convincingly as we rounded a corner.

"Whoa," Gazzy breathed.

Okay, I hadn't had high expectations, so what I saw just about blew my mind. A city, right under Manhattan. Groups of people were in the huge concrete cavern, giving us all looks. I heard somebody say "Not cops, kids." After that, nobody cared about us but one woman who was wearing enough clothes to cover Bigfoot.

"You got food?" she barked. Nudge wordlessly handed her a knish, and she took it and ate it like a dog would- messy, scattering fragments of it.

Here and there, people were sitting around fifty-gallon oil drums with fires glittering from them. The fires supplied the only light in the tunnel and got rid of the minimal chill I felt on my legs.

So many people without homes, people who didn't fit in anywhere, runaways... and there was a handful of kids that all looked to be about each our ages. I realized I had a headache, same as Max by her mind, and just wanted to sleep.

"Right there," the woman Nudge had given a knish to said, pointing to a narrow ledge of concrete built into a wall.

We saw an area that was empty on it and walked over to it. We scrambled up onto it, Max boosting Angel, me boosting Sara. We kept our backs to everybody there, the flock stacked their fists on top of each other and tapped twice. I cocked my head as they did so, and Sara gave me a look that said _why'd they do that?_ I shrugged before lying down with Sara next to me, squishing herself against my side. My headache started throbbing, though, and I couldn't sleep. So I just lay there that night, a flock of bird kids sleeping by my side.

3-3-3-3-3

Nick: He's still out...

Fang: Well, he did say a coma. He'll be out for... meh, probably one more day.

Nick: right... you do realize he's going to tickle the crap out of you when he wakes up, right?

Fang: Not if I move to Canada.

Nick: But then where would the flock be?

Fang: ... Hmm. Guess that wouldn't work.

Nick: Yeah. Anyways, Theanimedude is running out of ideas for his little author's notes, like the one you're reading right now. Please review with ideas, and if he likes them he'll use them for the 21st chapter and up. He has a plan for the twentieth that I really don't want to do... Anyways, review. Review. Review.

**THE BOX THAT SAVES LIVES IS BELOW THIS TEXT. CLICK IT.**


	20. Chapter 20

Theanimedude: Holy. Freaking. Crap.

Fang: That's what I said...

Nick: SUNSHINE LOLLIPOPS AND RAINBOWS!

Max: What the heck happened to him?

Theanimedude: Gah! Max, when did you get here?

Max: About fifteen seconds ago. I heard this horrible noise... and there it is.

Nick: (in Max's face) DO YA LIKE WAFFLES?

Max: ... Um, sure.

Nick: (in Fang's face) DO YA LIKE PANCAKES?

Fang: More than life itself.

Nick: (in Thenimedude's face) DO YA LIKE FRENCH-

Theanimedude: (pimp slaps Nick) SHUT UP!

Nick: I CAN'T! I'M TOO HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!

Theanimedude: What is he on?

Fang: I'm gonna go with catnip.

Max: Yeah...

Nick: WEEHOO! !

Theanimedude: Uh, Fang? Give the disclaimer. And put him in a coma, like me. Please.

Fang: Please? Did you just say please?

Theanimedude: Let me rephrase that. Or I'll tickle you with Max strapped to a chair watching.

Fang: (Chops Nick's neck with side of hand) That's more like it. It'd be weird if you weren't you.

Nick: OWWIES! IT'S OVER 9000! (Faints)

Fang: Theanimedude owns Nick and Sara. Review to save the lives of kittens everywhere.

Sara: Meow.

Nick the Eraser chapter 20 (never thought I'd get this far)

Ever wake up to having your brain kicked out of your head? Okay, that's not what happened, but it sure felt like it. Max and I both woke up simultaneously, jackknifing into sitting positions and groaning. Our breath came in short, rapid hisses, and Max was whimpering. So was I- but in a more dog-like fashion.

"Max?" Fang whispered into Max's ear. She didn't respond. She couldn't respond. We were both in so much pain. It was like my brain was being chopped to pieces, sewn back together with a rusty needle, stomped on by a dinosaur, struck by lightning, and then eaten by an Eraser.

"Nick!" Sara was patting my back with her hand, thinking I was having a murderous phase. "Why won't it stop?"

_OUCHOUCHOUCHOUCHOUCH! _Was all I could think. I heard voices speaking gibberish, maybe one of them was mine, I didn't know, I didn't care. Even with the promise I'd made Max at the beach, I gladly would've committed suicide if it meant ending this pain.

Inside my head, images pulsed shot across my eyes, making me sick, assaulting my senses with words, pictures, sounds. So painful!

And then I heard an angry voice- "Who's screwing with my Mac?"

I pushed through the pain and glared towards the source, my canines lengthening, my nails growing into claws.

"Who wants to know?" I shouted angrily, but I couldn't even hear my own voice through the pain. It was all I could do to stay on my hands and knees and not collapse to the stony ground whimpering. I was trying to cling to just a little bit of pride, but I'd been reduced from Nick Tundra the super eraser to a weak, beaten child.

The pain slowly crawled away tauntingly, slowly slithering from my brain, as if to say, _Haha, you're still alive, I didn't kill you, I'm gonna come back again._ I growled animalistically from frustration. It didn't go away entirely- just enough to keep me on the ground, trying not to bawl into the concrete.

"What are you talking about?" Fang asked, standing and talking into the darkness, his voice hard.

"My whole system crashed," the voice said again angrily. "I've tracked the interference, and it's comin' from you! So I'm telling you right now, cut it out or else!"

Max drew in a deep shuddering breath, and I struggled hard enough to stand.

_Pain is nothing. Pain comes and leaves. Ignore the pain, and you won't even notice it leave, _I thought to myself. I don't know if Max heard it or not. When I was standing, I pried my eyes open, ignoring the pain the best I could, and shooting metaphorical daggers into the darkness.

"And what's wrong with her? She trippin'?

"She's fine," Fang snapped. "We don't know anything about your computer. If you're not brain-dead, you'll get out of here." Ah, man, Fang sounded cold. It was almost enough to scare me. I suddenly felt an urge to be competitive. I remembered how back at the cave with the hawks I'd made Nudge and Gazzy gulp just by looking at them emotionlessly, murder radiating off my body. I tried to assume the same look, and it worked- I was once again emotionless Nick Tundra, the person who listed killing as an everyday hobby. Fang actually looked back at me, and his eyes widened when he saw me.

"I think you'd better leave," I said smoothly in my low and even voice I used to use every day. "We're not in the mood right now." You could practically see the icicles dripping off my words. I'd say I'd beaten Fang's coldness hands down. I was smirking on the inside, but my face remained emotionless on the outside.

"I'm not going nowhere till you stop messing with my Mac. Why don't you get your girlfriend to a hospital?

Girlfriend? I wonder who he was talking to there. Did I hope it was me? Or did I hope it was Fang? I'm not sure, either way, Max was probably going to catch it for this later. This made Max pry herself up onto one arm, then sit up.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked in a croak. Wow, she seemed everything except ruthless in that sentence. Among the things she did sound like are raspy, weak, and... I dunno, maybe like she's on a hangover or something. Peering into the darkness, I got a hazy impression of somebody about my age, some kid wearing clothes like an army soldier. He had a dingy laptop computer attached around his shoulders like a guitar strap.

"None of your beeswax!" he shot back. "Just quit screwing with my motherboard."

"What are you talking about?" Max asked irritably, one hand clenching her head.

"This!" the kid turned his Mac towards us, and my eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. It was a mishmash of flashing images, drawings, maps, streams of code, silent films of people talking. Hadn't I just seen that in my brain attack? But everything was perfectly identical.

"Who are you?" Max asked the grimy looking kid.

"I'm the guy who's gonna kick your butt if you don't quit messing with my system," he snarled back, and I felt a prickle of white fur growing on my hand.

"That's a laugh," I muttered, but then I froze. Two red words were scrolling down the screen- Hello Max.

Fang's head whipped to look at her, and she focused helplessly on the screen. Wait, how did I know what the words were? I can't read.

_Maybe because I'm saying them._

_Oh, fer' cryin' out loud! How do I get rid of you?_

_You don't._

_Of course I don't._

For those of you who aren't used to me talking to myself, that was the voice in my head.

_I knew you'd come. I've got big plans for you._

_And what makes you think we'll follow them?_

_It's not a matter of you all together, Nick. Because You're leaving the flock tonight._

_Ummm... How about no?_

"What's the deal?" The kid asked, now sounding like he was freaked. "Who's Max? How are you doing this?"

"We're not doing anything," Fang said.

The pain suddenly struck back, and I had to walk backward till I hit a wall to stay on balance. The screen began flashing through images and a lot of disconnected, hard to understand things.

I gazed at the screen through squinting eyes, and I spotted four words: _Institute for Higher Living._

Fang looked at Max and nodded. He'd seen it too. And then the screen was blank.

"I'm gonna track this down" the kid muttered, his fingers moving too fast to track across his keyboard. When he failed to succeed in anything, he turned to us, glaring.

"I don't know how you're doing it," he said, sounding resigned and irritated. "Where's your gear?"

"We don't have any gear," Fang said smoothly. "Spooky, isn't it?"

"You guys on the run? You in trouble?"

"Why would you think that?" I asked at the same time as Fang. He looked at me, surprised, and I shrugged.

The kid looked at us strangely, and said "Let me see. Maybe because you're a bunch of kids sleeping in a subway tunnel."

Good point.

"As for me," he said evenly. I got kicked out of MIT because I wouldn't take my thorazine. What's thorazine? I had no clue. "People just want me to be quiet, do what I'm told, stay out of trouble."

I could relate. Except I'd given up on that. This kid and I were kind of alike, weren't we?

"So, what's up with your computer, man?" Fang asked the kid, who I still didn't know the name of. I'll just call him Whiz-kid from now on.

"Oh, I hack into other computers, systems-" Whiz-kid started, but then froze. "Why? Who wants to know? Oh, I bet you're after me! They're always after me!" And with that, he took off running.

"Paranoia, thy name is Whiz-kid," I said simply, staring into the darkness in which Whiz-kid had faded.

"Yeah," Max murmured, lying down once more. "Anyway, now we know where we're trying to go." I nodded, before rolling over onto my back on the ground and falling asleep instantly. That was strangely easy... too easy for there to not be trouble in the morning.

3-3-3-3-3

I woke up the next morning and- guess what? Nick was gone again. Tou'd figure after yesterday morning, he'd have stayed, but nooo...

"Angel!" I shouted to my baby, who shot awake instantly, hearing the urgency in my voice. "Find Nick!" She was on it immediately, and I heard her say _Found him__,_ in my head.

_Nick!_She thought/screamed.

_Hello, Angel,_ came his groggy response. _Did you do your homework? Because if you didn't, Max'll kick my-_

_**Nick!**_

_Hey, Max, how ya doin? _

_**Where are you?**_

_Ummm... right above you. OW!_

_**What are you doing?**_

_SPAMMING ERASERS WITH LIGHTNING! Holy crap, there's a lot of them._

_**We're coming!**_

_Suit yourself, I'll be done soon- OH MY-_

_**Nick!**_

No response.

"Everyone up!" I shouted. "Nick's fighting on his own topside!"

We instantly found a manhole, jumping out through it, not bothering to use the rungs of what looked to be a slimy ladder. All we saw was a huge mass of brown before our eyes adjusted to the light and we saw that it was really a bunch of erasers. We started mowing them down from behind, because they were too preoccupied with what was in front of them to check behind them.

"Nick!" I shouted.

"Hey Max!" he shouted from above me. Startled, I looked up in time to see him dive-bomb an eraser right in front of me, his feet firmly meeting its face.

"Traitor!" the eraser howled in pain and anger before dropping like a stone.

"What's up?" Nick asked me, turning to me with a giddy smile on his face.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked him, noting he seemed to be wobbling. He was a bloody mess, and one of his eyes was swelled shut. He lifted one finger, meaning "hold on a sec," before bringing the back of his fist into an eraser's face.

"Well, I'm part wolf, I have wings, I kill people on a daily basis, I shoot lightning from my bare hands, and I like saying-" he jumped up suddenly, crashing his white Sketchers into an eraser's head. "-BOOT TO THE HEAD!" he finished. "So that's five things."

"You're also acting like you're on drugs or something," I pointed out, dodging an eraser's arm and using it to hurl him into the ground.

"Less talkie, more fightie?" Nick said quietly before blasting every remaining eraser with electricity.

"Nothing like a third rail to recharge your batteries," Nick said smoothly.

"Uh, Nick-" I started.

He turned around and faced the one remaining eraser.

"One second," he said to it, holding out his palm and making him pause. "If a ghost got sick, would I call its mummy?" he asked stupidly before kicking the eraser ten feet upwards. It crashed back down to Earth on top of all its buddies. Nick had taken down about fifty erasers on his own with little effort. With the flock combined we got barely ten, and we were sweating up a storm. But Nick still looked a little bit insane.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, reaching for his hand.

"Yeah. They put some kind of drug in me. It made me feel no pain and then feel really happy, even though they hit me a lot. Wait, there it is-" he said before he fell to the ground in a heap.

"OWWWWWWWWWW..." he groaned before falling unconscious.

"Oh, boy," Fang said sarcastically. "Won't this be fun..."

3-3-3-3-3

I'm serious about the author's note ideas thing.


	21. Chapter 21

Theanimedude: Hey guys, 'sup?

Fang: Nothing. Except Nick's not here...

Theanimedude: What? Really?

Nick: (from another room) ACHOO!

Fang: Gesundheit!

Theanimedude: Whoa, is he sick?

Nick: (enters) (in nasal voice) it's a very rare disease.

Fang: What's it do, Nick?

Nick: AHHH! (is thrown into wall by invisible force)

Fang: Whoa! Nick, what happened?

Nick: AHHH! (Is thrown again)

Theanimedude: What's going on N-

Nick: Stop! Stop it! Do not say my name!

Fang: Why not, Nick?

Nick: AHHH! (flies into wall again) Owww...

Fang: Wait a minute...

Nick: Every time you say my name, I fly into a wall. That's what the disease does.

Fang: (Eyes go wide) O, rly?

Nick: (In captain falcon voice) Hyes, rly.

Fang: NICK NICK NICK NICK NICK NICK NICK-

Nick: Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!

Theanimedude: Fang! Stop it. And give the disclaimer.

Fang: Oh, fine. Theanimedude owns Nick and Sara. Review to save the kittens. Because I've seen Ari kill a kitten, and it's gruesome.

Sara: Meow.

Theanimedude: So, here are my two problems. I've run out of ideas for author's notes, and I've no inspiration for this part of the fanfiction. This part of the actual book was filled with filler chapters, and it took forever for things to get good. I have so many AWESOME plans for later on... but for now I'm going to be updating pretty sluggishly. Bear with me, and pretty soon I'll be getting up at least two chapters a week easily.

Nick the Eraser chapter 21

Nick wasn't waking up. We'd taken him back underground a little while ago, and he was still out like a light. We'd tried having Sara pat him, we'd tried kicking him (Fang's idea, he didn't ask for my approval first) and we'd tried mouth to mouth.

Yes, I'm serious. I'm not going to say who did it. But Nick just lay there, unconscious and bloody. We'd bandaged his arms and legs, but we couldn't tell if anything was broken. I was starting to get worried. His heart was still beating, which was good... but he wouldn't wake up.

And then- Duh! Nick and I were mind-linked. I could see what was going on with him through his brain. I focused hard on his mind, and something totally surreal happened. I felt myself moving, even though I was being perfectly still. I opened my eyes. It was dark, and I was levitating whenever I moved. It was really freaky. I could see through his eyes, and I saw myself on my knees in front of him, my eyes closed. Then I realized- I was INSIDE his brain.

I was moving through his mind, so freaky, and I found what looked like a sphere of white light. Now, what was that? I'd never been to "school," but I knew that there weren't balls of light just sitting around in the middle of your brain. I walked up to it, reaching out to touch it.

_Hello, Maximum._

I jumped back, startled. That was the voice.

_W-what?_

_What you're looking at right now is the form I take so that I may be perceived by you inside of Nick's head._

_Nifty bit of info there, voice. Now get out._

_No can do, Maximum. I'm not just an annoying voice, but I'm what keeps Nick alive._

_What?_

_I'll explain it to you when the time is right, Maximum. For now, Nick is healing. He won't wake up until he's healed enough that he'll be able to be conscious without fainting from pain again._

_... I don't trust you._

_I understand. But you probably want to get out of Nick's mind now._

_Why?_

_So you don't see anything you don't have to._

_What do you mean?_

I swear, the voice sighed. _Never mind. Stay and witness his nightmares._

So Nick was going to be having nightmares soon? How would I be able to tell? As a matter of fact, that question was answered immediately. All of a sudden, the landscape around me changed completely. I was now in a huge, grassy plain, the grasses stained red with blood. The sky was crimson, and the sun was black. I looked down at myself- and froze. I was transparent. I could make out the image of my body, but I could see straight through it.

I looked around, and I saw Nick standing in the middle of the plain, looking around anxiously for something. He looked straight in my direction- and his eyes skimmed right past me. What did that mean? Maybe it meant that I could barely see myself... and he couldn't see me at all. Suddenly, things began to rise from the ground. I looked around, seeing that there were hundreds of them. They were... me.

A whole lot of me- all dead. Various causes, apparently, because some looked as though a bullet had gone through their brains, and others had sword handles jutting out of them in various places. If there's anything more gut-wrenching than seeing a dead body, it's seeing your own dead body- and hundreds of it.

Nick's eyes were wide with terror, looking as though tears would spill from them. He shook his head violently, grabbing it with both hands.

"None of these are real," he whispered in a broken voice. "I'd know. The real Max is somewhere else."

"Right here!" my voice said from behind me, making me jump. I turned, and there I was, standing and waving in Nick's direction with a smile on my face. Nick's expression became one of relief as he ran towards... uh, me and me. He ran straight through me to get to me... I think you get it.

But as soon as he was right in front of "me," "I" froze. There was a sword sticking through "me," and "I" fell to the ground, revealing a black-cloaked figure behind "me."

Nick screamed, "Who are you?" with dismay and anger. He leapt at the figure, ripping its hood off- and went stone-still. The face looking back at him was his own.

That meant that Nick killed me. Again with the nightmares about killing me...

Suddenly, I was thrown out of Nick's mind, back into my own body. Nick snapped upwards, sitting up and panting heavily, his body coated in sweat, gleaming with the little light from the manhole. He was trembling, and Fang and the others thought it was from pain. But I knew the real reason.

"You okay?" I asked him, reaching over to his hand. He gasped and jerked it away as though he'd been scalded.

"Your hand must hurt, just like everything else on your body," Nudge said, holding a plastic cup with water in it. "Here. Drink."

He took the cup, slowly and shakily raising it to his split lips.

"Is anything else wrong?" I asked him. He looked at me and nodded, not wanting to talk about it right then. So I dropped it. Sara stared at him curiously, looking as though she was perplexed.

"What was your dream about?" she asked suddenly. We all turned to her, and for some reason Nick looked relieved that the attention wasn't on him right that second.

"How do you know I had one?" he asked slowly. Sara shrugged.

"You just said it without moving your mouth," she said, acting as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You said 'Okay, that was just a nightmare. Just a really, really horrible and realistic nightmare. It's not true, none of it is true,' and then when Max tried to hold your hand, you weren't convinced she was real."

Everybody stared at the little brown-haired girl, thinking the same thing- What the heck?

"Too many mind readers," Angel muttered suddenly. "I'm starting to feel less special."

"Wait wait wait," Gazzy said. "You mean Sara can read minds now?"

"That's starting to become a pretty common ability," Nick said, looking down at the ground.

"As if my privacy wasn't threatened enough," Iggy said, groaning. "We ought to kick someone out, just to feel safer."

"Very funny," Nick grumbled. "You should be a Jeff Dunham type guy, with a puppet in your lap."

"Yeah," Gazzy said, brightening. "And I could be your puppet's voice!"

"And you'd be so popular that the School would get right to us," I added in, with mock excitement in my voice. I know, don't rain on their parade. "Other than that, though, it would be awesome."

Nick smiled; glad the subject had gone so far off from his nightmare. I looked over at him, grabbing his attention.

"I don't believe any of it," I whispered as the flock shared their dream careers with each other. "I know you're fine. You wouldn't do that, no matter what." I was still really uncomfortable with this kind of thing, but it was seriously needed. I mean, Nick was constantly afraid of killing me. If he was too afraid of it, he'd leave.

We'd all grown to like Nick and Sara, even if Nick was a little bit unpredictable. And by "unpredictable," I mean he may lose control and, say, kill all of us. Whatever made him do this was being restricted by Sara, though. And Sara wouldn't go anywhere without Nick. If we had one, we needed the other.

He blinked in surprise, but nodded and left it alone. "Let's find this institute now," he murmured.

"'The Institute for Higher Living.' Has a nice ring to it, huh?" I said with a smile. Nick nodded, and then became lost in thought.

"Remember when I was a tundra wolf... uh, yesterday?" he asked. I nodded. "I figured out how to do it again in case I have to," he said. "I just morph, but I don't stop at being an Eraser." Well, cool.

3-3-3-3-3

We got topside, me walking kind of slowly, still injured. I was sure I'd heal soon, but that didn't change that I wasn't in pain. New York was just... wow. No better way to put it. Nothing like I'd ever seen before. Okay, I grew up in the school, but if you went to New York, you'd see what I mean. It's not your average place.

It was still early yet, and everybody was a little drowsy. Don't ask me why, hadn't they fought Erasers just a couple hours ago? I'd been drugged with something that made it painless, but when it wore off, I'd felt weak. I mean, fall to the ground and faint weak.

Sara was clinging to my hand as though if she let go, I'd disappear. I held her hand tight as well, not wanting to lose her. I needed her if I planned on staying with the flock.

Anyway, I looked around, marveling at everything behind the glass windows on fourteenth street. Everything you could buy in the world was there. I could afford some of it, what with my having a couple hundred dollars in my wallet, but I decided that that money should be saved for emergencies. Whatever money Max was using, however, went towards honey roasted peanuts. I'm not complaining, because they were really good, and really worth it.

"Smile, you're on Candid Camera," Fang said suddenly. There was an electronics store with cameras wired to monitors showing passerby next to us. We ducked, not wanting our images shown anywhere. Suddenly-

A: A clown gave us cookies.

B: The world transformed into a gigantic marshmallow which I roasted with the sun.

C: A metaphorical railroad spike drove into my skull.

If you guessed C, you're obviously thinking logically. Because this is my life, right?

As this happened, I stared at the screens in the store. All reading _Hello, Max. _Who saw that one coming, huh? Nobody? Didn't think so.

My eyes bulged as I watched the screens. Okay, what the flip?

"Jeez," Fang breathed, stopping dead in his tracks.

"What is it?" Iggy asked, bumping into Fang from behind.

"Is that you?" Gazzy asked. "How do they know you?"

_Playing is learning, Max_, the voice said in our heads. _Games test your abilities. Fun is crucial to human development. Go have fun, Max._

Oh, sure, just ignore half of the people you're talking to. That's fine.

"I don't want to have fun!" Max suddenly blurted to the world. "I want some answers!"

_Get on the Madison Avenue Bus. Get off when it looks like fun._

3-3-3-3-3

So, we got on the bus, and it was tight. And by that I don't mean a slang term for cool, I mean closed in. And entrapping. And- well, it was tight, like I said.

"So, about this voice in your head," Iggy said. "What is it, like a conscience?"

"Max has no conscience!" Gazzy broke in. "She ate my cake once!"

_**Like, two years**__**ago,**_Max thought at me. _**He's so stingy.**_

_Who made the cake?_

_**...Why?**_

_Was it you?_

_**No. Why?**_

_Just curious as to what kind of cook you are._

Max laughed out loud, and then turned to face me from the seat across from me.

"I couldn't cook if someone held a bullet to my head," she told me. "I've tried so many times to cook, and- ask anyone, they'll tell you- I've burnt everything from rice to water."

"How do you burn water?" I asked with astonishment.

"It takes skill," Angel said with a straight face, looking over to me.

"Or complete lack thereof," Fang said from behind Max. She shot him a look, and I smiled a little bit.

"What?" she asked me, turning to face me.

"You guys," I said, grinning. "Even though you're being hunted by the School, and have no idea when somebody's going to come at you with a dog cage with your names on it, you can still act and talk like everybody else in the world. It's just... nice."

Max stared at me for a couple seconds, before her lips curled back up slightly. "It is nice," she whispered. "Even though we've got a lot of crap going on, we've still got each other, and we're all family."

_She doesn't mean me, _I thought to myself, mind blocks up. _Sara's the only family I've got. But, what the hey, I haven't known them for all of our whole lives._

My smile dropped as I thought this, sadly looking down at my hands. _I'd give anything to be a part of their family, _I thought to myself, clutching Sara to me. She looked up from her seat and smiled, wrapping her arms around my torso.

"What?" she asked me, breaking me out of my thoughts. I smiled, ruffling her hair with my free hand, making her giggle.

"Nothing," I murmured, holding her close. "I'm glad I've got you."

"Me too, big brother," Sara said with a grin. How was it that her teeth stayed so white if she didn't brush her teeth? I still don't understand.

"Okay people," the bus driver said over the PA. "Fifty-eighth street! This is where the fun is!"

_Get off when it looks like fun. _

I looked over to Max. If this wasn't a dead giveaway that this was where we had to be, I didn't know what was. Max nodded at me, and Fang looked at her with surprise. At what, I had no clue.

We got off the bus and I froze instantly. Why was there a 15 foot tall ballerina in front of me? And a huge teddy bear, taller than Fang and I combined? And a wooden soldier that was about a sixth of the size of the Eiffel Tower?

"What's that say?" Sara asked, pointing towards the sign on the front of the store.

"AFO Schmidt," Max breathed. "The biggest toy store in the world."

Well alright.


	22. Chapter 22

Theanimedude: Nick! Where's dinner?

Nick: Got it right here! (Walks in with three plates of lasagna)

Theanimedude: ooo, Italian.

Fang: Om nom nom nom.

Nick: How is it, Fang?

Fang: AHHH! (Flies into wall)

Theanimedude: What the-

Nick: YES! Justice, and lasagna, is SERVED! Right, FANG?

Fang: AHHH! (flies into another wall)

Theanimedude: I feel like we've been here before. Have we been here before, Fang?

Fang: AHHH! (flies into wall)

Nick: I sneezed on Fang's food.

Theanimedude: Did you sneeze on mine?

Nick: I don't know, THEANIMEDUDE.

Theanimedude: ...

Nick: What the duck, it didn't work!

Theanimedude: That's not my real name, just my screen name...

Nick: Really? Huh.

Theanimedude: I own Nick and Sara. I also own Dak, but he's not here yet. Review to save the bloody kittens!

Nick: FANG FANG FANG FANG FANG FANG FANG-

Theanimedude: Again, I'm sorry for the long wait. I copuld update a lot faster if I were more motivated. I'm seriously considering skipping to U' Do and then right to the institute scene. Because honestly, I feel like I'm writing for nothing, what with my serious lack of reviews and my serious dislike for this part of the plot..

Nick the Eraser chapter 22

AFO Schmidt was incredible, to say the least. They had toys and playthings years beyond what I'd even dreamed of having in my possession. They had a life-sized giraffe, a model spaceship, about one fifth the original's size and- well, I could go on for days.

Max was strongly opposed to buying anything, as she was getting low on money. However, I, being the multi hundred dollar one-time thief, could've bought a good portion of the store. I offered to Sara to have absolutely anything she wanted. She didn't want a single thing. She said that it'd only weigh her down. Max looked at her with approval, while I just stared at her blankly.

What kind of kid wouldn't want something from here? Honestly. So anyway, I was walking around the store, and I saw this videogame system. I picked up the controller, and it wasn't that complicated at first. I played the game for a couple minutes, and I beat the high score in about five minutes.

But then the screen was replaced with static.

_What the heck?_ I thought to myself. _What did I do?_

Turns out I hadn't done anything. The TV was the one acting up. It suddenly switched from a static screen to a black screen with white-typed letters materializing on it.

**Leave the flock, Nick.**

Sara looked up at me from her position beside me with surprise.

"Is that you?" she asked. "How does the game know you?"

"They interviewed me before they made the game," I muttered.

"Who did?"

"The school." Sara's eyes went wide with recognition and she clenched my grubby jean leg. I turned around quickly and walked straight over to Max, who, on coincidence, was walking straight towards me, Fang right behind her.

"Let's grab the others," she said in a hushed tone. "A Ouija board just told me to save the world."

"And a TV screen just told me to leave the flock," I told her. We grabbed the others, but were unable to find Angel. We searched for her briefly before finding her talking to a middle-aged woman with a bear that looked like an angel, dressed in a silky white dress and with a wire halo suspended above its cortex. Head. Man, what is up with me today? The woman showed Angel her wallet before buying the bear for her. Angel was squealing with joy, but I hardly noticed. I suddenly felt myself drawn away from the toy store and towards a music store nearby.

Don't ask me why, but I went with it. Once I got inside, I immediately dashed over to the guitars. I found a nice one made by Yamaha for about a hundred, and I bought a case with it. It totaled to a hundred and fifty dollars, leaving me with tons of cash to spare.

"... Wait," I said to myself once I got outside. "Why did I do that?"

"Yeah," Max said, startling me. "Why'd you leave? We're trying not to let any of our soldiers go to the dark side here."

"Aww," I fake pouted. "But the dark side has cookies." Max punched me in the arm, and I just smiled.

"So why did you buy that thing?" Max asked me, gesturing to the guitar.

"I don't even know," I said honestly. "I just felt like I had to."

"Well, is it going to weigh us down?" Fang asked me, his eyes cold. Ugh, the looks I get from that guy.

"No," I said, throwing the strap over my shoulder and positioning the case so that it rest on my back. "It's not that heavy, and it won't get in my way if erasers attack us-"

"Hello, ki-" Two erasers suddenly popped up in front of us, but my fists had snapped into their faces before they finished their sentences. And I mean **into **their faces. Their heads exploded like popcorn.

"Oh my-" Max shouted.

"Holy crap!" Gazzy said, jumping backwards.

What? What happened?" Iggy asked, hearing the alarm in their voices. Fang made an "eww" face, and Nudge and Angel's faces turned green. Sara looked down the street.

"Is that brain?" she asked me, unfazed, pointing to a small pink blob down the street.

"Yeah," I said. "Life-sized." The flock stared at me with various looks of astonishment and I shrugged.

"They startled me," I said honestly. It was true. They had kind of gotten the jump on me. Plus, I had been pretty relaxed.

"Remind me never to scare Nick," Iggy said, having gotten the story from Gazzy.

"Think I'm gonna be sick all over Celeste," Angel said, hugging her bear to her chest. Aw, she named it.

"Might have to wait," I said, turning around. "More coming. 1 o' clock, 2 o' clock, 3 o' clock- crap, they're everywhere." As I'd said, Erasers, all dressed in matrix style clothing came in on us from all sides. Fang was in front of Max, but all of their eyes were on one of us. And guess what? That one of us was me.

Max POV

Nick tried, he really did. He was mowing down erasers like they were weeds, but about fifty of them all literally tackled him, piling on top of him to hold him down. Then it was just the seven of us- eight, if you count that bear Angel influenced a woman to buy for her.

"Nick!" Sara shouted. She'd let go of his hand for just a brief couple moments, and now she looked like she thought he was gone forever. And then- get this- she gave a jumping uppercut to an eraser so hard and fast that he literally backflipped into the air, colliding with another small mass of them and knocking them all out.

Whoa. I mean, seeing Angel getting like that was a little surprising, but she'd been trained for that. But Sara, the clingy, yet adorable little kid that cried when it was storming? What the heck? We had a shot at Ripley's.

So anyway, we've got Sara, shooting down Erasers like flies, whilst the flock and I are only being attacked by two and making no progress whatsoever. Again, what the heck?

I hated to leave Nick, but we had to get out of there. We hightailed it, running down the street, and I giggled like a maniac when a biker took an eraser out on accident, but then suddenly a furry hand grabbed my hair and ripped me away from the flock.

I screamed and attacked the thing with all I had, but it didn't even flinch, just laughed horribly.

"Is this a movie?" somebody asked as the guy tore down the sidewalk with me hanging by my leg over his shoulder.

"Answer me this!" a voice said from in behind me, startling me. "DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A FREAKING MOVIE? Wait... actually, yeah it kind of does, but it isn't!"

Only one person I knew had that kind of logic. Sure enough, Nick punched the eraser in the side so hard that he dropped me before flying into the open street, getting it hit by a car in the process.

"Poor car," Nick said as he caught me. "Now it's got a huge brown and red stain on the windshield."

I almost kissed him. I'm serious, I was that grateful, and we all know how much I hate mushy stuff.

"Not done yet!" the eraser's buddy growled from behind us, and Nick stuck out a hand crackling with electricity towards his face, making it freeze.

"Don't worry!" Nick shouted to the amazed crowd that was watching us. "Just special effects! Trust me; I could not do this if this weren't a movie." But the crowd was already stampeding out of there, leaving Nick and I alone with the eraser.

"I'd suggest you just dropped dead right now," Nick said sweetly. "Much better than what I'll do to you if you don't-"

The eraser dropped to his knees before falling limply on the ground. Nick, despite what he'd just said to the eraser, was shocked.

Lo and behold, the flock caught up with Sara right then, Fang in the lead. He dropped to his knees and started punching the crap out of the unconscious eraser in front of Nick, not realizing he was dead.

"Easy there, ace," Nick said shakily. "He's kind of gone to meet the devil."

Fang stood up, surprise on his face at the sight of the eraser, but he paled for a split second when he saw me in Nick's arms.

"Ouch!" Nick shouted as I back fist bunched him in the face, making him drop me into a graceful landing on my feet. "Sunova-"

"Do not hold me," I said to him, backing away from him.

"Some way to thank your rescuer," he grumbled, plugging his nose with a napkin as blood dripped out of it.

"Sorry," I muttered. "Wait- how'd you get out of there so quickly?"

"I just played Soccer with a bunch of them," he said, not letting on anything else. I cocked an eyebrow at him, not understanding. Iggy was chortling though, covering his mouth with his hand.

"I get it," he whispered, high-fiving Nick. I think that Iggy was the closest one of us to Nick, excluding Sara and I.

"Anyway," I said. "Back to searching for the institute." As we walked ahead, Sara latching onto Nick like a vice, I came up next to him and whispered "What did you mean?"

He smirked in a way that made butterflies float in my stomach, before saying "I kicked some balls."


	23. Chapter 23

Theanimedude: You guys are never going to believe this.

Fang: What is it?

Theanimedude: Okay, so I'm on Google, and I type "nick the" and guess what happened.

Nick: What?

Theanimedude: It popped up in the suggestions.

Fang: And...

Theanimedude: As the second most popular search!

Nick: Holy crap, we're famous!

Theanimedude: Dang straight we are!

Fang: Wow, geez. That's impressive.

Theanimedude: Isn't it? Oh, and to all you readers, I was basing my popularity on reviews, but seeing that showed me that I'm more famous than I thought! Thank you for Googling, you know who you are!

Nick: That doesn't mean they can't review though, right?

Theanimedude: Oh, heck no! Your reviews are valued, especially considering how rare it is that the reviews I get are negative. So remember to review. And if you don't believe me, type "nick the" on Google. It'll pop right up!

Nick: Theanimedude owns Sara and me. He also owns Dak (more on him later.) But for now, read until your bloody eyes melt, faithful readers! Oh, and reviewing saves kittens. I actually get a dollar every time I say that.

**Theanimedude: By the way, I'd like to ask for some villain suggestions. I'm not sure I'll do all of them, or any really, but just in case. (I'm clever because the bold made you notice it.)**

Nick the Eraser chapter 22

"I liked it better when we blended," I complained to Max in a hushed voice. "Now everybody stares at us like we're sideshow freaks or something." Ever since I'd rescued Max from that eraser, everybody in New York had been giving us weird looks.

"Well, we've got the freaks part down," Gazzy grumbled, licking his ice cream cone. "Just no sideshow."

"Oh, come on guys," Max said with a shake of her head. "We're not freaks. Mutants, bird-people and avian Americans maybe, but... Okay, we're freaks."

"I concur with that assessment," Iggy said, his hands behind his head as he walked.

"I wish there was a way to make us not stand out as much," Angel said, clinging to Max with one hand, Celeste with the other.

"You!" a voice said from ahead of us, and Max grabbed my arm so I didn't instinctively bust the person's head open. Sadly enough, this was a legitimate issue. The voice belonged to a young guy with a mohawk haircut, who had suddenly jumped in front of us.

"You guys are perfect!" he said ecstatically.

What?

I had no idea where the guy was going with this, and I wasn't sure if should've trusted him.

"Perfect for what?" Fang asked with a calm and deadly voice he usually only reserved for me. Oh, how nice, we were both picking up bad vibes from this guy.

"We're having a makeover fest!" the guy said, acting as though we'd just won a million dollars. "You guys get total makeovers for free, as long as your stylists get to do whatever they want."

"Like what?" Nudge asked with interest.

"Makeup, hairstyle, anything!" he promised. "No tattoos, though. I'd need your parents permission.

"So that's out," Max and I said at the same time, and we looked at each other startled.

"Would you stop that? Me? What about you? Quit it!" We kept going. Then finally, we both shut up.

"Like twins," Gazzy said from behind me.

"Back to the subject at hand," Nudge broke in. "I want to do it! Please, Max? I wanna get a makeover!"

There was a place across the street called U' do from which to girls were emerging. They looked wild. Even their own friends wouldn't have recognized-

Hello.

_I think we just hit the jackpot, _I thought at Max, a smile creeping up my face. Max nodded, looking over to Mohawk guy. Heh heh heh, Mohawk guy.

"I'm up for it," Max said, surprising Fang. "We'd love to be made over. Make us look **completely different.**"

3-3-3-3-3

"But aren't earings kind of... I dunno, girly?" I asked my stylist. She'd blindfolded me, only occasionally telling me what she was going to do.

"No way!" she responded cheerfully. "They match your eyes perfectly." Great. I'm pretty tough, but I wasn't expecting the pain that came from having my ears pierced. She'd picked out my clothes, had me step into a dressing room and change blindfolded, and now she was working on my head.

"You know how hard it is to find white hair dye these days?" she asked me.

"It's not dyed," I told her simply.

"Oh, it isn't huh?" she asked me, mischief in her voice. "Let's just see." I heard water running, and instantly ejected all electricity from my body to my chair just before she started rinsing my hair out.

"Cold," I whispered, very, very quietly.

"Hm. Guess it's not dyed," she said astonishedly. "Well, I think I will dye it. What color?" she asked me. I hesitated. I liked my hair. I'd heard a shaver going, and she'd whipped off a couple feet of it. My hair'd gotten pretty long, long enough to touch the backs of my legs, but now it wasn't even to my neck by the feel of it.

"Why don't you just dye some of it black and the rest not at all?" I asked her. "I don't want much..."

"Okay," she said, not a bit of happiness leaving her voice. "I know what I'll do now!"

It took a couple minutes, but eventually she was done. She whipped the blindfold off and pushed me out of my chair, showing me to a huge mirror.

Ho. Ly. Crapbaskets. That person was entirely different. I was wearing a black zip-up jacket that stopped at my shoulders and ended at my ankles, a black shirt with a white lightning bolt on it inside of a red circle, and a pair of blue jeans. Couldn't go wrong with jeans, no.

There were two sapphire studs in my ears that somehow didn't look girly at all, and though I hated to admit it, they did match my eyes. Shut up.

My hair was completely black with one white lightning bolt-shaped design in the center of the top of my head. And lastly, I was wearing a silver chain necklace with a yin yang symbol charm at the bottom of it, which rested right below my chest.

"And what's cool," she told me, looking like she thought I didn't like it, "Is if you want to go stealthy, you just throw on the hood and zip it up. I can't even see your face when you do that."

"I love it," I told her, smiling. She sighed with relief.

"Thatnks," she told me. "This is myfirst day."

"Well you did great," I told her. "Here I was thinking I couldn't look any better." Shoot modesty, who needs it anyways?

She laughed, her happy mood completely back now. "Go out and show your friends, now," she told me, opening the door. I walked out with a grateful smile, headed towards the store exit.


	24. Chapter 24

Theanimedude: It doesn't matter if you love me, or capital M. E.

Just put your wings out, cuz you were made this way, baby.

I remember back in the lab

I was an experiment

I grew new wings, and some claws like crabs,

And they unwrapped me like a mint.

Nick: First all you've gotta do is go to the school

Get your genes mixed with avians.

Before you know it you'll be really cool

Better than all the other men

Theanimedude: Though in the end it sounds great

I'm a genetic mistake

I'm on the right track, baby

I was made this way!

Nick: You may have your own regrets

But hey, what the heck-

You're on the right track, baby

You were made this way!

Theanimedude and Nick: Made this way!

Fang: ...

Theanimedude: Fang! What are you doing, that was your line!

Fang: Yeah. I'm not doing it.

Theanimedude: I thought we talked about this, Fang.

Fang: I remember you talking, and me saying no.

Theanimedude: Look, it took a long time for me to write these lyrics, we got Ari in the outfit-

Ari: (in a tutu) I'm in the outfit.

Fang: That's because you have no friends.

Ari: (starts crying)

Nick: Oh, smooth.

Theanimedude: Well, he kind of deserved that, but Fang!

Fang: I am not doing your stupid song parody.

Theanimedude: Why-

Fang: Screw you, that's why.

Nick: Well, we could always to Friday. It's Fri-

Theanimedude: ... Owns Nick and Sara. And Dak. Review to save the kittens. I do not own Born this Way or Bald this Way. They belong to Lady Gaga and Team 4 Star. TFS is my greatest inspiration- besides myself, of course.

P.S. Pennycat11, I think I know exactly how I can use Cato, Kiki and Kimmy. Thanks for that! And lastly, I'd like to add one more character amongst te flock to the begining author's notes. A vote, please? The available options are Max, Gazzy, Nudge, Angel, Iggy, and Sara. Review with your votes, Please!

Nick the Eraser chapter 24

I walked out in stealth mode, as I liked to call it, and instantly jumped into the shadows cast by the stores shelves in the corner. I saw the flock and Sara close to the store exit waiting anxiously. It was amazing how they'd transformed. Sara had traded in her khaki shorts and white hospital dress for some denim pants with a red t-shirt. Her brown hair had dyed black streaks in it now, and was now curly. Nudge's supercurly hair had been blow-dried perfectly straight and streaked with blond highlights. Gazzy's pale blond hair had been bleached white, and the spiky tips were blue. The sides were extremely short. Fang's hair had been cut short as well, except for one black chunk that flopped over his eyes with several mottled shades of tan. His basic black ensemble had been replaced with one that was slightly different. What was it, his uniform? Then again, I'm always wearing jeans with black... so I'm one to judge. Angel was in cargo pants and a t-shirt with a blue fleece jacket. Iggy's hair was spiked like Gazzy's with black tips. He got his ear pierced, too, apparently. He had thin gold wire loop dangling from one of his ears. Okay who's left- oh right, Max.

Max's long braid had been hacked off, and now her hair floated in feathery layers. Ha, feathery. It was streaked with hot pink, and her face looked like somebody'd gone to town with makeup. She looked very mature, in my opinion. Unlike Gazzy, who still wanted "bite me" shaved into the back of his head.

Speaking of immaturity...

I came out from the shadow and bolted past the flock so fast that they didn't even see me, just a blur of black for about a millisecond. The wind from my movement threw their hair upward. Startled, they looked around, but I was already on the other side of the store, once again hidden by shadows.

"What was that?" Angel asked, looking around, her hair falling back into place. Part 2 of prank, go.

I zipped past them once more, this time tapping Fang's back gently with one claw before fading once more. He jumped, and the flock turned to face him.

"What the heck?" he muttered, looking around. "Something... touched me."

"Guys, be on guard," Max said. "Let's walk out, see if it follows us."

"What about Nick?" Sara asked her, looking towards my dressing room. "He's not out yet."

"He'll find us," Max told her simply. "We'll just be right outside." With that, they walked out, me slipping through the door before it closed, instantly hiding in the shadows of a nearby building. Part 3 of prank, go. I jumped out of the shadows, seeming even to myself to disappear and then reappear right behind Max, my hand on her right shoulder. She paled, not daring to look back, her eyes wide. The flock stared at me, my hood casting a shadow over my face, making it impossible to tell who I was.

"Nobody move!" I said in a gruff voice that was very different from mine. The flock stood frozen, continuing to stare at me and Max. Max was making gestures with her hands, in a language I didn't understand. The flock's eyes darted down to her hand, then right back up to me quickly. I leaned my head in close to Max's ear, my chin just above her shoulder. I opened my mouth and revealed my canines.

"It's a vampire!" Nudge blurted, and then covered her mouth and eyes with her hands.

"Hi," I said in my regular voice, grinning, making sure only my mouth was visible. The flock remained silent for a moment, before everybody laughed so hard that they probably busted their sides. I let go of Max's shoulder, leaning back and laughing along with them.

"The looks on your faces!" I chuckled. "Hysterical."

"Shut up," Max said between laughs, holding her stomach. "Oh, I'm gonna die!"

"I vant to suck your blood!" Gazzy said in a perfect imitation of my voice, raising a new round of laughter. Even Fang was gasping for breath.

"How's that to lighten you guys up?" I asked once our laughter had died down to the occasional giggle.

"You scared the crap out of us," Iggy told me. "I mean, I didn't see you, but I heard you, right next to Max, and-" he started laughing again.

"Never do that again," Fang told me, finally getting his hands off his knees, but smirking nonetheless.

"Alright, I'll just dream up something else sometime," I said, flipping my hood off and unzipping the jacket.

"OMG," Nudge said. "What happened to your hair? It used to be so long!"

"Don't like it?" I asked her, smiling. "Ah well, at least I feel a little more light-headed."

"Oh, no, I love it!" Nudge reassured me. "It's just different, is all."

"I'm not the only one," I said. "You all look great."

"You too," Iggy said sarcastically, causing Max and I to role our eyes. I looked over to her, and she did the same, stunned.

"We've gotta stop doing that," we said simultaneously. Ugh. There we went again.

"Who's up for going back to the beach?" Fang asked, and we all agreed that that would be great.

3-3-3-3-3

Cato sat on his tree, glaring at the beach where the flock had situated themselves for the night. He was sixteen years old, had blue eyes, tan skin and blond hair. Anybody would've said he looked charming- anybody that couldn't see the pure ugliness his heart held.

Killing gave him joy. Killing was fun. Drawing out the death to hear his victims scream longer was the best thing, making him want to giggle with joy. Cato was the first of a line of mutants called strikers. 10% of him was tiger, the other 90% some would call human- but the others know he wasn't human. He was practically a demon in a human's body.

"Look at them," he whispered to himself disgustedly. "Playing at the beach when they could be captured any moment."

"Let me see," a girlish voice piped in behind him, nudging his back.

"Yeah, me too," a voice that was very nearly the same said. Cato growled in a low, deadly tone before reaching back and grabbing the sources of the voices by their throats.

"The only reason I haven't killed the two of you, Kimmy and Kiki," he said in a gravely tone. "Is because the whitecoats won't let me." He threw the two four-year-olds aside, and they landed on a branch with a powerful crash, making them wince.

"You're so mean," Kiki said, standing up and helping her sister up. Kiki and Kimmy were skinny, but not bony. They were cheetah/bird kids, making them very fast and full of stamina. They were able to control the elements, making them very valuable for their ages. Their hair and eyes were brown, and they were part African-American, making their skin kind of dark.

"Yeah," Kimmy pouted. "We just wanted to see. I don't really want to kill those people... I've never wanted to kill anybody."

"Tough!" Cato snapped, turning his head to scowl at them, making them flinch. They had bruises everywhere just from his abuse. "We kill who the whitecoats tell us to kill, and as the leader of the expiration team, you obey me when I tell you to do something. Got that?" The twins whimpered and nodded simultaneously.

"Camo, Espio, you seeing this?" Cato asked the two other members of his squadron. "Make sure you watch their every move, and that you're able to do everything their able to do."

The two Japanese twins nodded. Both at 14, They had black hair and red eyes. They, like Cato, looked very charming. However, they found no joy in killing. They found no joy in anything, in fact. They simply worked at the school so that they could continue to live. They were part chameleon, part bird. Appropriately, they could shapeshift into any form they desired, and were exceptionally stealthy and swift. They weren't just linke at the mind, their minds were almost perfectly synchronized. When they were together, they did everything the same way. Apart, however, they could read each other's minds perfectly, but go no further than that.

Cato smirked. How he wanted to kill this flock, to feel them exhale their last breaths. However, the flock had been designated to save the world, apparently. Their job was not to dispose of the flock. However, this Nick Tundra had become a nuisance. He needed to leave the flock, as he would never let the flock face any kind of danger. A considerable amount of danger would be required to save the world, so Nick needed to... expire, if you will. Their mission was to destroy Nick Tundra.

Cato was going to love every second of it.


	25. Chapter 25

Theanimedude: And this chapter's winner is- NUDGE!

Nudge: Hello! Hi! How you doing? Hope you're good.

Nick: Hey, Nudge.

Fang: Hola.

Theanimedude: Nudge, how does it feel like to be in this author's note?

Nudge: Like I've been dragged miles away from home by Nick.

Nick: You said you didn't want to come, I told that to him, he said feather, and so I went back so I could bring you here.

Nudge: Feather? What kind of feather? Is it Fang's feather? Or is it a flamingo feather? You know flamingoes are pink because they eat shrimp and stuff? I love shrimp, especially popcorn shrimp. I mean, it's like a little ball of fried goodness wrapped around a tiny shrimp. I like jumbo shrimp, too. That's an oxymoron, you know? Jumbo shrimp? Kind of like hot chili. Hot chili is good spicy, but not too spicy. Not like that salsa I tried at Moe's. Speaking of restaurants, I really like Applebee's! I mean, you know they've got all this great music-

Nick: D8 How long can she go?

Fang: ...

Theanimedude: Silence is golden... and duct tape is silver.

Nick: On it!

Theanimedude: Owns Nick and Sara. Reviewing saves kittens. Vote for next chapter's character appearance.

P.S: SwiftslashxLeafstorm (excuse me if that's spelled wrong) is this character of yours Ella, or somebody very nearly the same as her? Because if she's not Ella, I'd like to have permission to use a different name in order to avoid confusion. And some backstory'd be nice, too. And a question- Could you say that Ella Phantom was, ahem, "Going Ghost?"

Nick: DUCT TAPE!

Nudge: (squeals) (muffled screaming)

Fang: Kind of a nice look for you...

Nudge: (muffled enraged screaming)

Nick the Eraser chapter 25

You wouldn't believe what happened that night at the beach even if I told you. I'll go ahead and tell you anyway though.

So I morphed into full arctic tundra wolf form, and I ran out to the water just to watch it avoid me. Sure enough, it receded when it looked like it was about to touch me. No matter where I went, the water avoided me.

So eventually, I got a little daring, and ran full speed towards the water. I didn't see the wave coming until I was almost in. I gasped, skidding to a halt- as the wave passed right over my head. It crashed down, and there was water all around me, but it was like there was a Nick-shaped bubble of oxygen around me. Not a drop of the water hit me, and it just popped into the air and joined the rest of the water when it got near me.

_So I could even do..._ I thought to myself, turning around and trotting a fair distance in my four-legged body, before turning back around and thinking _this!_

I ran towards the water and leapt into the air when I ran out of land. I had gotten a good amount of speed, so my jump carried me about fifty feet. And when I got near the water, it literally parted so I wouldn't touch it. I fell and fell until I reached the ocean floor, landing with a thump on the sand, which seemed to even be sacrificing its moisture so that I wouldn't get a drop of water on me.

Okay, so now I'm literally under the water, a bubble of air around me, and if I look up I can see everything in the ocean above me. There's water everywhere around me, but wherever I go, it makes way for me. Do you believe it? Didn't think so.

Oh, and here's a funny thing- whenever I got near a fish, it would fall into my bubble and start flopping around. I'd put them out of their misery- by eating them. They weren't wet at all, and whatever water they were coated in seemed too flop out of my oxygen bubble.

So I made a game of chasing fish on different levels of water, and then scooping them up in my lupine mouth and devouring them whole. Holy crap, it was so good! So much better than eating erasers.

While I was in the water, I thought of something. I'd been able to have my hair washed and drink water in the past, but now it all stayed away from me. But both times I had been empty of electricity. So apparently I was only able to repel water if I was charged. Hm. I could see why the whitecoats wanted so badly to study me. Learning about me was interesting.

I played my fish game for a little while before I heard Max in my head a few minutes later.

_**Nick!**_

_Hi, Max. What's up?_

_**Where are you? We've looked for you everywhere!**_

_Oh, geez. Max, I am SO sorry._

_**Why?**_

_I'm underwater. You could've searched for me for years, but you probably never would've found me._

_**I'm just glad you're safe. Sara's gone into hysterics up here, though! Come up here and comfort her.**_

_Yes sir!_

_**Excuse me?**_

_Um, yes ma'am. Sorry._

This is where I say d'oh! What a stupid mistake! I should've told them where I was. I ran back up to shore, and the flock look startled when they saw me rise out of the parted waters like Moses, completely dry. I demorphed quickly (don't ask me how I morph into my clothes every time) and ran to Sara, who was running to me.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," I whispered, wrapping her into my arms as she sniffled. "I'm so, so, sorry..."

"I thought you were gone!" she sobbed. "I thought you were dead!"

"No," I told her. "I'm here, I'm fine. I'm not leaving you." She continued to sniffle and cry into my chest as I kneeled down to her level. I knew it then. Sara needed me just as much as I needed Max. We both had pathological fears of losing somebody.

Sara hiccupped as her cries finally were silenced. She just leaned against me, holding me to her with a viselike grip. I sat down in front of her, holding her as well, stroking her hair and ruffling it, making her giggle again.

"Did I miss anything else?" I asked, looking up to the flock from the sandy ground.

"I have gills!" Angel told me excitedly. Well, who saw that one coming?

"That's... wow," I said, shaking my head with surprise and wonder. What's next, scales all over your back?"

"I'd be like a snake," Gazzy said, imitating a snake's hissing perfectly. "That'd be awesome.

"Yeah," Max whispered, rolling her eyes. "Awesome."

"Cookie?" Iggy asked me out of the blue, holding one out to me.

"Nah," I said, surprising everyone. "I'm kind of full."

"But you haven't had hardly a thing to eat," Nudge said with bewilderment.

"Actually, I did eat a lot of fish," I said, looking out to the water and grinning.

3-3-3-3-3

Later that night after sunset, I began to experiment with my guitar. It turns out it wasn't tuned right when I bought it, so I tuned it. How I knew how to do so, I have no clue. I was sitting a pretty fair distance from the flock, and they were all getting ready to sleep, so I'd be able to play without waking them up.

At least I thought so...

"Nick," Sara whispered, startling me. She'd been right behind me for a couple seconds and I'd somehow never noticed.

"Yeah, sweetie?" I whispered, hooking an arm around her and pulling her to me.

"When the erasers attacked us earlier today," she continued to whisper. "I was reading their minds. And I was seeing what they were seeing and hearing what they were hearing." I nodded, looking her in the eye.

"And, well," she said. "They want us to leave the flock. They said they would kill us if we didn't leave 'cause you were making so they couldn't save the world."

"They can't kill us," I told her reassuringly. "I've got both of our backs."

"But they can," she said firmly. "They've got a team that they're gonna use on us if we don't leave the flock tonight. They're all really strong. Stronger than us."

I didn't believe it. No way did they have mutants more powerful than me.

"Are you scared?" I asked her. She nodded, burying her head in my coat.

I don't want you to die," she sobbed. "I love you. Why don't they understand that?" I hesitated before speaking again.

"Sara," I whispered. "If somehow, I do die, I'm sure that they'll leave you alone. I'm going to try very hard not to let them kill me, but if they do, you have to stay strong, okay?" She was crying softly, but she nodded in response.

"Want me to play you a song?" I asked her, holding my guitar up with one arm. She nodded before settling herself on the ground in front of me.

Max POV

I know we looked like it, but we weren't asleep. We were listening very closely to Nick and Sara, but not letting them know we were.

"I have to play kind of quiet so that I don't wake the flock up, okay Sara?" he asked her, and she nodded, her tear-stained face gleaming in the moonlight. Poor baby.

Nick held his guitar up to his stomach, sitting cross-legged in the sand. Somehow I knew we all wanted to hear this. The last time we'd heard Nick sing, it had been beautiful. And now he was accompanying his voice with his guitar. It was like we had our own private performer.

He began to strum his guitar in a quick, steady rhythm, and Sara smiled a little bit. And then he began to sing. His voice was pure, at a perfect pitch to a song he never had time to learn.

_Come stop your crying  
>It will be all right<br>Just take my hand Hold it tight  
>I will protect you<br>from all around you  
>I will be here<br>Don't you cry_

_For one so small,  
>you seem so strong<br>My arms will hold you,  
>keep you safe and warm<br>This bond between us  
>Can't be broken<br>I will be here  
>Don't you cry<em>

_'Cause you'll be in my heart  
>Yes, you'll be in my heart<br>From this day on  
>Now and forever more<em>

_You'll be in my heart  
>No matter what they say<br>You'll be here in my heart, always_

_Why can't they understand  
>the way we feel<br>They just don't trust  
>what they can't explain<br>I know we're different but,  
>deep inside us<br>We're not that different at all_

_And you'll be in my heart  
>Yes, you'll be in my heart<br>From this day on  
>Now and forever more<em>

_Don't listen to them  
>'Cause what do they know<br>We need each other,  
>to have, to hold<br>They'll see in time  
>I know<em>

_When destiny calls you  
>You must be strong<br>I may not be with you  
>But you've got to hold on<br>They'll see in time  
>I know<br>We'll show them together_

_'Cause you'll be in my heart  
>Yes, you'll be in my heart<br>From this day on,  
>Now and forever more<em>

_Oh, you'll be in my heart  
>No matter what they say<br>You'll be in my heart, always  
>Always<em>

He stopped singing and sat his guitar on the ground beside him before wrapping Sara in his arms.

"Don't ever forget that I love you, Sara," he whispered. "Because I always will."

"Okay," she said quietly. There was a pause as he held her close to him for a few minutes before she piped up once more.

"What about the flock?" she asked. "Do you love them, too?" He was silent once more before he looked up to the sky, turning slightly. He then looked back down, his eyes right on me.

_Crap, _I thought._ He knows!_

"Yeah," he said finally, smiling. "All of them. Like siblings." His smile turned into a frown though as he stood up and walked to the shoreline.

"But how could they love me?" he asked himself. "I'm practically the embodiment of their enemy. I'm an eraser. No matter what, no matter how much I love them, they'll never love me." He picked up a rock in the sand and threw it into the water, watching it skip far into the distance.

"I wish," he said, so quietly that I could hardly hear him with my raptor-hearing. "I wish that I could make them love me." He chuckled harshly to himself. "That'll never happen."

With the way he was talking, I realized that he hadn't noticed we were awake.

"Maybe..." he whispered to himself. "Maybe I really should leave the flock." I almost stood up and jetted to him right then, but I stayed there. He shook his head.

"No," he decided. "If they didn't at least care about me somewhat, Max wouldn't have made me promise to stay. For now... I guess I'll make do with loving them and letting them care about me."

I smiled, rolling over so that I faced the flock, moaning to make it seem as though I was asleep. Fang smiled at me slightly before closing his eyes. I sat there and thought after that, wondering if what Nick said was true. Did we really just care about him, or did we love him?

Did I love him?

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Phil Collins- You'll Be in My Heart


	26. Chapter 26

Theanimedude: Okay, here's the deal. The last chapter, I received no votes. Instead I used a vote that was for Sara from last chapter.. I have no issue with this. But another review said "YAY! NUDGE!"

In truth, I didn't know if that was a vote or not. So I didn't count it. I got another review, last chapter, the same one that was for Sara, that also voted for Nudge. Two problems there: One, it was two votes at once from just one person. I can't do that. One review = one vote. You can make more than one account and make more than one review if you want to vote more, I don't care.

I'm not saying what you did was bad, not at all. I' just telling you my system and how to stay within this system. I probably should've done this before now. In any case, vote. The previously scheduled author's note will now be shown.

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Theanimedude: And this chapter's winner is SARA!

Sara: Hi!

Nick: Hello, Sara.

Fang: Yo.

Theanimedude: Sara, is it true that you speak Japanese?

Sara: Hi!

Theanimedude: Yes Sara, hi. Now, do you?

Sara: Hi!

Theanimedude: If this is your way of saying no, you're kind of being mean about it.

Sara: Hi!

Theanimedude: Oh fer cryin' out-

Nick: Hey, boss? "Hi" means yes in Japanese.

Theanimedude: Oh. Really? Is that true, Sara?

Sara: Hi!

Theanimedude: Well, I feel stupid.

Sara: Hou.

Theanimedude: Did she just call me-

Nick: No, she said "You should."

Sara: Hi.

Theanimedude: Okay, you have a conversation with her, because I'm just confused.

Nick: Hola. ¿Hablan en español?

Sara: Si.

Nick: Gran. Vamos a hacer Theanimedude sentir estúpido por hablar en español en lugar de los japoneses.

Theanimedude: What?

Sara: Está bien. ¿Cómo ha ido la semana?

Nick: Bellas. ¿Cómo era suya?

Sara: Estaba bien. Encontré una bola bouncy.

Nick: ¿Rebotarlo?

Sara: Si.

Theanimedude: Okay, it only gets worse. I own Nick and Sara. That's it. Review with next appearance votes and words. Complaints, comments, concerns, just want to tell me how awesome I am, whatever. Reviewing saves kittens, right Sara?

Sara: Hi! ¡Miau!

Nick the Eraser chapter 26

"Look who's come to the seashore."

The low voice, full of malice and smoothness woke me right up. I tried to leap to my feet, but I had two erasers holding my arms, and another with its foot on my neck.

Max was in a similar position, Ari, the guy that I'm pretty sure I killed, twice, being the one with a boot on her throat. Iggy was being held down as well, but Fang was up and fending off them as best he could. Angel and Nudge were up in the air already, looking around and paling as they did so. I looked around, only to be met with hundreds of my former brethren. Erasers everywhere. I'd say about a quarter of what I'd killed in my life time. And considering I used to spend days that I'd kill up to twenty at a time, and that went on for about six years, that's a lot of erasers.

Max was trying to get Ari off of herself, something I should've been doing, but I couldn't make myself stand up. I mean, an eraser's foot on my neck and two holding my arms down made it pretty hard to do anything. That, and they'd gotten me on my back and were pushing me down, making my wings hurt.

I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Max was yelling angrily at Ari, and he was leaning down to touch her face. That threw me over the edge.

My vision went red, and I felt myself morph, causing the three erasers on top of me to growl at me threateningly. No matter. I snapped up, launching them all off of me, and tried to dive towards Max. I was blocked by two rather moronic erasers, who bounced off of me. That was when things got bad.

About fifty erasers jumped me, all piling on top of each other to hold me down. I couldn't see anything but a huge mass of brown now, tinted red.

"Nick!" I heard Sara scream. "Let go of me, you stupid thing! Nick! Nick!" She continued to yell my name, each time sounding more frantic.

"Shut up, you little brat!" I heard a voice shout, before a loud smacking sound reached my ears, quickly followed by a short, painful scream, and then silence. Now I was REALLY mad.

I don't know if it was a murderous phase thing or not, but I roared, instantly overpowering the erasers that had tried to incapacitate me. They all fell to the ground, and I leapt over them towards Sara, who'd fallen to the ground.

But then I froze. A coldness went over my body, starting at my neck and flowing down to my toes, before it went up and covered my head's entirety. I felt the coldness turn into numbness, and my eyeballs rolled into my head.

_Okay, _I thought. _This is where I develop some new ability that saves my life._

_Not if you're not dying._

_Oh, I'm not?_

_Nope._

_Well. This is a problem._

And with that, I fainted.

3-3-3-3-3

"You're not responsible for me. I do what I like. I named myself- Maximum Ride."

"I'll always be responsible for you," he snapped. "If you think that you're actually running your own life, then maybe you're not as bright as I thought."

"Make up your mind," I snapped back. "Either I am the greatest or I'm not. Which is it?"

He waved his hand, and the erasers holding Iggy and I let go. Ari turned and smirked at me, then blew me a kiss.

"Daddy always loved me best!" I spat at him, making his face darken.

"The only good thing about this," he growled, "Is that we get to take your two little tagalongs with us."

Nick and Sara. I almost leapt at them, but Iggy stopped me.

"They can take care of themselves," he told me. "Right now, Fang can't." I hated to admit it, but as they left, carrying Nick and Sara with them, but he was right. Nick would be back soon. Fang could be dying right now.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as the last traces of the erasers disappeared. Jeb was with them. No, Jeb was one of them.

3-3-3-3-3

I groaned as I woke up. I had a pain that felt like rocks pounding against my skull, and it just kept coming. I couldn't see, but I felt a rough texture, like a sack, all around me.

_Why am I in a sack?_ I thought. _And why does it feel like I'm upside-_

There came that pain again. _Wait a minute... I'm in a sack... pain like rocks on my skull... somebody kidnapped me and is dragging me across the ground._

_Okay, backtrack. Earlier, fighting erasers, Sara got knocked out, I leapt at them and got tranquilized. So right now, Sara and I just got kidnapped by erasers and are being carried away from the flock. _

_... OW!_

I tore out of the opening in the sack and knocked out the two guys carrying me instantly, dusting my hands.

"'This side up,' boneheads," I told them, picking Sara up off the ground beside me and zipping her up in my coat.. "Next time maybe you'll remember that. And never drag your cargo. Especially when it's me. I'm very valuab-"

"Oh," I whispered, looking around me, noticing the legion of erasers around me. "Hi there, fellas. You been to the toy store? They've got everything."

After that, things went to heck and the hand basket exploded.

We were in the middle of New York, with plenty of people. I needed to get somewhere where I wouldn't cause destruction. Either that, or a plan to get rid of all of them quickly. I turned and bolted as fast as I could away from them, and get this- most of them were right on my tail. I kept running, turning rapidly at every building. And next I made a really smart move. I turned right into an alley.

I jumped up to a building wall and propelled myself off it to the one beside it, and continued doing this until I reached the top of one of the two buildings. I looked down to see that many erasers had taken a wrong turn, but about fifty of them were scaling the building walls like monkeys. Maybe this new line of erasers had some monkey in them.

I looked closer to realize that these guys didn't look like erasers. More like... bipedal tigers. Strong tigers. Strikers? Meh, I'll call 'em that for now. Suddenly the portion of ground in the alleyway rushed upward from the ground to make a floor between the two buildings, letting the strikers stand in front of me. I readied myself for a fight until I saw one of them take out a little phone and growl into it.

Suddenly a drop of water fell and landed on my nose. It was raining. But how? The skies had been clear just seconds ago. Then it really started pouring.

Thunder, rain, and lightning  
>Danger, water rising<br>Clamour, sirens wailing  
>It's such a bad sign<p>

The strikers didn't seem the least bit fazed by this. The one with the phone looked at me and began to speak.

"Nick," it said in a low voice that reminded me of Optimus Prime. "We do not wish to fight you. If we fight you, we will kill you. If you simply come with us, we will spare you.

Shadows of dark creatures  
>Steel clouds floating in the air<br>People run for shelter  
>What's gonna happen to us!<p>

"The way I see it," I said simply. "Is that you're fighting a losing battle here. Ever watch a movie? The good guy always wins." With that, I pounced.

All the steps we take, all the moves we make, all the pain at stake  
>I see the chaos for everyone who are we what can we do<br>You and I are same in the way that we have our own styles that we won't change  
>Yours is filled with evil and mine's not there is no way I can lose<p>

The leader stood still as two strikers leapt in front of me, grabbing my arms. I flipped them off with no effort, and they yowled the whole way down to the ground.

Can't hold on much longer - but i will never let go  
>I know it's a one way track - tell me now how long this'll last<br>I'm not gonna think this way - nor will i count on others  
>Close my eyes and feel it burn - now i see what I've gotta do<br>Open your heart, it's gonna be alright

Don't want that happening again," the striker said, growling into his phone. A glass dome suddenly grew out of the building tops and surrounded us. There was a hole at the top of the dome, and the water seemed to only be pouring in through it, now.

Ancient city blazing  
>Shadows keep attacking<br>Little children crying  
>Confusion, hopeless anger<p>

"It will take about five minutes for the dome to fill," the leader said. "Plenty of time to get rid of you."

"That would be my line, thank you," I said, lunging once more. The leader dodged me, leaving me to fight with the forty-seven other strikers.  
>I don't know what it can be but you drive me crazy<br>All your cunning tricks make me sick, you won't have it your own way

I fought off the first five easily, punching one in the face and causing it to fall into its comrades. The next ten surrounded me, one lunging at a time. I spun in a rapid circle, just slow enough that I could see what I was doing, and moved my fists to attack each one accordingly. They also fell unconscious, leaving thirty-three. I jumped to the glass wall, running around it, and whenever a striker was stupid enough to try and attack me, they missed due to my fast movement and were then punched on my next time around. Water was about knee-high now in the dome, leaving about three minutes left. Only the leader was left now.

Can't hold on much longer - but I will never let go  
>I know it's a one way track - tell me now how long this'll last<br>I'm not gonna think this way - nor will I count on others  
>Close my eyes and feel it burn - now I see what I've gotta do<br>Open your heart...and you'll see...

The leader and I lunged towards each other, and were both blown backwards by the force of our impact. I then remembered I had Sara in my coat.

"Time out," I said, surprising the striker. "Would you hold on a second? I've got to take my sister out." I unzipped the coat and Sara fell into my waiting arm, her eyes fluttering open.

"Big brother," she whispered with relief.

"Hay," I whispered. "I'm in the middle of a fight right now, so go outside the doe through that hole, okay sweetie?"

"No," she said, surprising me. "I think you should go. I can hold him off and you can recharge."

If it won't stop, there will be no future for us  
>Its heart is tied down by all the hate, gotta set him free<p>

"How?" I asked as lightning crackled above my head. Oh. Sara whimpered as she spread her wings and fluttered out of my arms.

"Go," she told me. "I'll be fine."

I know it's a one way track - tell me now how long this'll last  
>Close my eyes and feel it burn - now I see what I've gotta do<br>Gotta open your heart, dude!

Sara and the leader were trading blows, each blocking the others, as I jumped up through the hole. I flew straight up into the cumulonimbus clouds, feeling water start to leave my body as lightning that attempted to strike me surrounded my body. I focused all of it in my hands, holding it above my head.

"Now, Sara!" I shouted as the water spilled over the top of the dome's hole. She swam out, drying her wings and quickly flying out. The leader attempted to follow, but I stopped him by grabbing his head and throwing him back in.

Can't hold on much longer - but I will never let go  
>I know it's a one way track - tell me now how long this'll last<br>I'm not gonna think this way - nor will I count on others  
>Close my eyes and feel it burn - now I see what I've gotta do<br>Open your heart, it's gonna be alright, yeah

Open your heart

Open your heart

I stuck my hands above the water and unloaded the electricity from the lightning into it, electrocuting all the strikers. They all yowled in pain, before simply falling unconscious in their watery grave.

I hugged Sara to me and kissed her forehead, whispering "You did great. I'm so, so proud of you." She giggled, burying her head in my dry coat. The electricity I had left in me caused all moisture to flow out of my bubble, including the moisture on Sara.

And then, amazingly, the storm stopped and all the clouds disappeared, leaving the night sky clear and revealing the stars.

"Back to the flock, Sara," I whispered to her, holding her hand as we flew back towards the beach.

_Nick._

_Yeah, voice?_

_This is your last chance. Find somewhere else to go. Not back to the flock. You'll die tonight otherwise._

_I'll die, huh? Just like I was going to die when those strikers attacked me?  
>Thanks, but I'll pass.<em>

_I warned you. I gave you all your chances. Now we're out. The expiration team will kill you._

_The who?_

_You'll have to wait and see._  
>I sighed before continuing my flight.<p>

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Song used: Open Your Heart By Crush 40


	27. Chapter 27

Theanimedude: This chapter's winner is the infamous, the indestructible, and the undeniably psychotic MAXIMUM RIDE!

Max: Did... did he just call me psychotic?

Nick: That he did, lass.

Fang: In a somewhat fitting manner.

Max: I'm not psychotic!

Nick: You're just as psychotic as Angel.

Fang: No, that's 'psychic'.

Nick: Really? Oh.

Max: If anybody's psychotic, it's him. (points at Theanimedude)

Theanimedude: So very, very true. Question for you: Who do you prefer, Nick or Fang?

Max: ... Come again?

Nick: Yeah Max, let's hear it.

Fang: Come on. We want to know.

Max: Um... Erm... Uhhh... I play hockey.

Nick, Fang and Theanimedude: What?

Max: So I'm getting the PUCK outta here! (dashes towards door)

Theanimedude: The penalty for not answering your question is to be tickled by the two subordinates of the inquirer! Nick! Fang!

Nick and Fang: Yes sir?

Theanimedude: Have fun.

Nick: Ohhh, yes SIR!

Fang: (cackles maniacally) (both begin pursuit)

Theanimedude: I own Nick and Sara. Review to save the lives of baby cats and/or kittens everywhere! With that, I leave you with the next chapter.

Max in background: (screams) What are those feathers for? Fang, let go of me!

Fang: You know you like it.

Theanimedude: And I grab my video camera! Guys, hold up!

Nick the Eraser chapter 27

Sara and I flew back in the direction of the beach, the voice's warning echoing in my head. The Expiration Team will kill me. Who was this "Expiration Team" and why7 were they going to kill me?

The answer was simple: I hadn't complied with the school's orders. Those control freaks just didn't get that I was my own person. Everybody in the flock was their own person. Granted, we were made more our own people what with the wings and all, but whatever.

I touched down next to some trees when I got to the beach, a few feet away from the flock, whose members were leaning over Fang. Holy crap, he looked like he'd been through a train wreck.

_Dang it, _I thought. _I should have been here. I can't be two places at once, but still. I could've prevented this._

"Fang," I heard Max say, her voice breaking. "Just live, okay? Live and be okay." And then she did the unspeakable.

_What? What? WHAT! THE! HECK!_

_Cool it, brain, you're having a panic attack!_

_Okay... phew. I think I'm alright now. Oh my gourd, she kissed him!_

_Did you just say oh my- never mind. Is this an issue?_

_Heck yes this is an issue!_

_No. There is no reason for this to be an issue._

_And what makes you think that?_

_Because you never had a chance with her and you know it._

_I had __**A**__ chance. A little one, but still a chance._

_Granted, but was that going to do you any good?_

_... No. I guess not._

_There. That wasn't hard, was it?_

_No. It wasn't._

_Good. By the way, you're insane. You've been carrying a two-sided conversation by yourself._

_Sanity is overrated. _

_That it is, pizzano. _

_Okay, what do I do now?_

_Make your appearance known, but play it cool._

_Got it._

_And do NOT act like your heart is broken._

_I don't have to act like it. It is._

_... Good point, so act like it isn't._

I walked out from the trees shadows and dusted my hands on my jeans.

"Well it's about time," I said with a convincing smirk. The flock looked over to me, startled, and sighed with relief. Fang looked at me crossly as Max tried to hide that she was blushing like a tomato before saying "Good. You're alive. We were starting to worry."

"What can I say?" I said with a shrug. "I die hard. That's enough about me. What about you Fa- Chresus Jist! You look like you were in a train wreck!"

Split lips, dried blood making a track from his mouth to his chin, bruises on his face, awful, jagged scratches running across all visible skin, his brand new shirt torn open, the way that just turning his head to look at me gave him a pained expression.

"That's a distinct possibility," Fang said with a smug smile. "I passed out a few minutes ago." I knew what the smile meant. It meant "I won, you lost, I get her, you get nothing."

I almost glared at him, but I remembered to keep acting cool. I gulped almost silently before looking over to Max.

"So, what happened?" I asked her.

"Ari," Max said bitterly.

"Ari?" I said, surprised. "Didn't I kill him- like, what is it, twice?"

"Apparently not," Max said grimly as Angel ran up from the shoreline with water for Fang.

"Well, between you guys at the hawk's cliff and Ari I think I've lost my touch at killing," I muttered. "Maybe I should go back to being emotionless..."

"What?" Sara shouted. "No! Why would you do that?"

"Well for one thing," I started. "I'd become much better at killing things, and for another thing, I wouldn't have to put up with pain from sadness or crap like that. Heartbreak, yearning, loss, all gone." Crap, said a bit too much there.

"But if you insist, I'll stay the way I am," I sighed, propping my arms behind my head.

"It's funny," Fang said in a raspy voice, sitting up and facing me. "It's almost as if for some reason you want that to happen." I almost killed him.

"Nah," I said, ignoring how my voice cracked and grinning. "Just messing around. Why would I want that anyways? I mean, I've got you guys, haven't I?" I turned away from them and whispered so quietly **I **barely heard myself "At least for now."

"What was that?" Max asked me, turning from Fang to look at me.

"Nothing," I lied without looking back. "What are we doing tonight?"

"We're finding another place to hunker down for the night," Max said. "And tomorrow we're tackling the institute issue again."

"Sounds good," I said, leaning backwards against the tree behind me. "Where to?"

"We're going to fly to Manhattan if Fang feels up to it," Max told me, looking down at her raven-haired prince. He nodded. I turned and hid my scowl from them before nodding and taking off.

3-3-3-3-3

I watched as Nick flew towards our destination, not bothering to wait for us. That was weird. He usually was the last one to leave. He even left without Sara!

Sara walked over to us as we stood up, fidgeting.

"What is it, sweetie?" I asked her, bending down so my head was almost level with hers.

"Something's bothering Nick," she whispered to me. "He thinks he's going to die tonight." I looked at her with surprise, and she nodded before continuing.

"He thought that since tonight was going to be his last night, he'd make a really important confession. But then he saw you and Fang and he changed his mind."

"Confession?" I asked her. "What kind of confession?" I knew the answer before I asked the question.

"He loves you, Max," she told me. "He loves everybody in the flock, but not like he loves you. Ten minutes don't go by without him worrying that you're going to die and he's going to lose you." She paused before looking up into the night sky at his retreating form.

"And in a way," she continued with a sigh. "He feels like he's already lost you."

3-3-3-3-3

Theanimedude: Short, but it's something.


	28. Chapter 28

Theanimedude: One vote, one winner, we have the accused-of-being-psychotic ANGEL!

Angel: What?

Nick: It's a long story...

Fang: Too long.

Angel: Okay...

Theanimedude: Angel, have you ever picked up some weird thoughts from the flock?

Angel: Yes. Almost every day from Fang.

Nick: Oh, do tell.

Fang: Ah, Angel-

Theanimedude: (holds feather at Fang while leaning towards Angel)

Angel: (whispers)

Nick: ... PWAHAHA! Fang... Oh my gosh, I can't breathe!

Theanimedude: What did she say? I didn't hear.

Nick: I c-can't repeat it! F-Fang! DAHAHA!

Fang: (blushes furiously) Nick, if you don't stop it, I will pluck every feather from your wings and then glue them to your face!

Nick: Big words for somebody not on a unicycle.

Fang: What?

Nick: So long, suckas! (laughs maniacally as he disappears)

Fang: ... What?

Theanimedude: I own Nick and Sara, that's it. Fang, you think you could track Nick down?

Fang: I fully intend to. (cracks knuckles)

Theanimedude: Oh, tough guy.

Nick the Eraser chapter 28

Bird kids!

There's no one as cool!

Bird kids!

Watch out for the school!

Bird kids!

You can't defeat 'em!

Bird kids!

You'll never beat 'em!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Teenage Mutant Flying Bird kids!

Max groaned as The Gasman recited his version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles once again.

"For crying out loud Gazzy, just let us sleep!" Nudge shouted at him in a hushed tone. "You'd think you'd be tired right now, but nooo, you're so energetic you go and sing our ears off!"

"Not a bad song, actually," I mused subconsciously. "Maybe it'll go good in your band."

"What band?" Gazzy asked me, and I shrugged, staring up at the concrete ceiling. We were back in the hidden village, as I liked to call it, lying on our concrete ledge. I had Sara propped on my chest.

She'd matured so rapidly. She used to be so afraid of everything, so fragile. I think that, maybe because she was fighting for me she became stronger. I became stronger after I met Max, after all.

And yet the power I obtained when I lost Max was so incredible. Death came to those who were stupid enough to fight me almost instantly. But was that really power? Had I really become stronger?

_No,_ I decided. _I simply was more ruthless because I didn't care about anyone. Now I care about people that hardly care back, and that willingness to murder had dissipated. I wasn't any stronger when I was emotionless. Being able to hold that strength back, however... that's made me strong._

Hm. Life's mysteries were sure easy to solve when you experienced them. What is real strength? Real strength is not to be able to kill- true strength is to be able to protect.

But I wouldn't have anyone to protect after tonight, one way or another.

3-3-3-3-3

Later, after everybody had gone to sleep and I was still staring at the ceiling, I heard a tiny yelping sound. I looked in its direction to see Sara lying on the ground next to Nick.

"You okay?" he asked almost inaudibly.

"Yeah," Sara whispered. "I guess I rolled in my sleep..."

"Maybe you should just sleep beside me now," he suggested. Sara nodded, looking at all the other sleeping members of the flock, and I closed my eyes to make it look like I wasn't awake. Sara looked back over to Nick as I reopened my eyes.

"Your back," she said suddenly.

"Hm?" he grunted in question, looking over to her.

"Everybody else is sleeping on either their sides or their stomachs," she said matter-of-factly. "You sleep on your back."

"Hm," he grunted again.

"Doesn't that hurt your wings?" she asked him.

"No," he said before pausing. "But they ache like heck in the morning."

"Well, you should change positions," she told him. He nodded, slowly turning his head back up to the ceiling.

"Maybe we should change something else, too," he said to her. She stared at him quizzically, not understanding.

"Like what?" she asked him.

"Like who we're with," he whispered. "We could just fly away, leave the flock and never turn back. Fly over to the Martinez's, maybe live with them." She gaped at him, and I almost did, before forgetting I wasn't supposed to be conscious."

"This is about Max and Fang, isn't it?" she asked him.

"No," he said. "That's just part of it."

"What else is there?" she pointed out.

"Lots," he countered. "I can't help but feel like we don't matter to them. Think about it, Sara. Would any friends have beaten me to a pulp, bombed me and then acted like it was no big deal the next day?"

Gazzy tightened his fist beside me. So he was awake to, huh?

"Would any friends," he continued, "Have waited until nobody else he knew was looking and then attacked me?"

Fang tightened his fist next. I assumed then that we were all awake.

"And," he finished, his voice gradually rising, "Would any friend let me be dragged away by a pack of erasers and another pack of strikers?"

Iggy's fist was next to tighten.

"They didn't even ask me what happened, Sara," he kept going. "Would any friends act like they weren't worried after you narrowly escaped a life in a dog cage with reinforced steel strong enough to keep a legion of mammoths inside and yet small enough to cramp a flea?"

"What about Fang and Max?" Sara asked him. "You've loved Max for the longest time. What you feel, and what she feels, is real."

"What she feels is very different from what I feel," he told her. "She's somehow tricked us into reading fake thoughts. I love what I thought she was, Sara. I don't love the real her, and I don't love her real indifference to me. The Max I thought she was, I would die for. But she isn't the Max I thought she was. She's more like..." he chuckled harshly. "The Min of what I thought she was. She doesn't love me, she loves him."

"Minimum Ride," Sara said after some quick thought.

"Bingo," Nick told her. "Look, Sara, I care about you. I really do care about you. They," he said, gesturing towards us with a sweep of his arm, "Don't."

"Nick, you haven't given this much thought," she said. "When you were fighting the strikers, you wouldn't stop worrying that you were going to LOSE them. Now you're talking about LEAVING them. What happened to you?"

"I woke up," he responded without hesitation. "That's what happened to me. Look at Max," he said to her, pointing over to me. "She's awake, and she's giving us fake thoughts like "Crap, they know," and "None of that is true," while plotting to ditch us."

"Don't you love them?" Sara asked meekly. "Please say you do."

"I feel the exact opposite of love for them," he told her.

"You hate them?" she asked with surprise.

"No," he said. "I don't hate them. They're just somebody's pawns, after all. What I feel for them is indifference. Because," he said while lifting his open palm. "Love is caring a lot. Indifference," he finished, closing his hand quickly, "Is not caring at all."

"Then what is hate?" she asked him.

"Hate," he said slowly, "Real hate, like what we feel for the school, is caring only so that you may like it when they're in pain. I don't care if they're on top of the world or if they hit rock bottom. It just. Doesn't. Matter." He enforced each words my amplifying his voice with each word.

"So maybe you have thought about this a lot," Sara whispered, defeated. "At least do me one favor, though. Wait until morning. You might find out you're entirely wrong."

Nick stared at the ceiling. "Until morning," he agreed. "You are a kid, after all. You can't see the whole picture."

"What happened to your pathological fear of losing Max?" she asked with a last-ditch effort.

"It'll never come true. I can't lose something I never had," he told her simply, without even blinking.

"Aren't you in pain?" she asked him. "You of all people should know that it hurts so much worse to learn you never had something to begin with than think you lost it."

He was silent for several moments before he sighed and shivered, I thought it was from the cold until I saw a tear rolling down his cheek.

"I do Sara," he told her brokenly, his first sign of sadness all night. "And I just want it back so badly. The old flock." He wiped away his tear with his arm and sniffled before continuing. "But like you said, I never had it to begin with. I haven't lost anything but a hopeless dream. I didn't want you to know that. I didn't want you to see me so sad over this."

"I'd know you were insane if you weren't," she whispered. "And I know sanity is overrated and everything but no matter what you say, you are sane. Because you're a person, and nobody can take that away from you."

He laughed lightly, hugging Sara to him. "Thank you, Sara. You're really smart, you know that?"

"Yeah," she whispered. "Now go to sleep, big brother. We've got a big day tomorrow, one way or the other."

I tried to sleep, I really did, but I couldn't after that. Somehow, it hurt so much that he didn't care.

I even wished he hated us now.


	29. Chapter 29

Theanimedude: Our winner is The Gasman!

Gazzy: Hey. I've got a question for you.

Nick: Whazzit?

Fang: What he said.

Gazzy: WHAT IN THE NAME OF MY BUTT IS GOING ON?

Theanimedude: Yeah, we got tired of asking nicely for you guys to come here, so we just threw you in a sack and brought you here.

Gazzy: Do you know how bad it smells when you're in an enclosed space with me? Everyone hates their own brand when they're forced to smell it! You could have at least given me air holes!

Fang: And let the smell out? Not likely.

Theanimedude: Yeah, whatever. Okay, question time: If you could only have bombs or farts, not the other one, which one would you choose and why?

Gazzy: Um, farts, I guess, because... you know, everybody farts.

Nick: Not like you do. I swear, if you farted in a dog's face it'd die.

Theanimedude: Oh, and I took a suggestion from Mistdale. The tickle machine is up and running! I even have a volunteer testing it right now.

Nick: Who?

Theanimedude: (points to monitor)

Fang: M-Max?

Nick: Why did she volunteer?

Theanimedude: Yeah, volunteer is kind of an overstatement. It was more like kicking, screaming, horror-stricken, please-don't-put-me-in-that-thing-or-I'll-punt-you-all-the-way-to-Bangcock forced participant.

Fang: Oh, you are so dead.

Nick: Yes, yes you are.

Fang: Wait, I thought you hated us?

Nick: That's in the fanfiction.

Fang: But you don't right here?

Nick: No, see there's fanfiction me, which Theanimedude writes about, and there's slightly-less-fake-me, which is me.

Fang: Either way, you aren't really in this story.

Nick: Of course I'm in this story! I mean, without me they'd just call it "Maximum Ride." I mean, how weird would that be? I'm a pivotal character to this plotline and you know it.

Fang: Wait, didn't we have a problem?

Nick: Oh crapmuffins, Max! (both leave room)

Theanimedude: ...

Gazzy: Um, did they go the wrong-

Theanimedude: Give them a minute.

Nick and Fang: (both reenter) Wrong way! (exit out opposate door)

Theanimedude: ...

(Both reenter with Max's arms around their necks, each glaring venomously at Theanimedude)

Max: I did not say please.

Theanimedude: By the way, where is Bangcock?

Max: ...

Nick: ...

Fang: ...

Theanimedude: Somebody say something, I hate awkward silences.

Nick: Theanimedude owns Sara and I. He also owns Camo and Espio. The original ideas for characters Cato, Kimmy and Kiki were supplied by Pennycat11. The following is a fan-based parody. Maximum Ride and all its respecting characters and titles belong to James Patterson. Please support the official release.

Theanimedude: Yes, I did go there.

Nick the Eraser chapter 29

I barely woke up before a cold hand wrapped around my mouth and a musky scent flowed into my nostrils. I tried to pry the hand loose, but it held like steel. I began to feel nauseated, like one would on their first plane ride.

I saw Max and the flock sleeping peacefully, and I barely got a look at the watch on Gazzy's wrist. 11:00. The night wasn't out yet. I still had time to die. These thoughts flowed through my head as my eyelids slowly slid shut and I fell back into unconsciousness before I even got a vague idea of what was going on.

3-3-3-3-3

I woke up instantly, doing a head count. Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, Fang, Nudge, Nick and Sara were all there. Nick was still staring at the ceiling.

"Nick?" I whispered to get his attention. His head turned to face me, and I gasped.

"What is it?" he asked, blinking.

"N-Nothing," I told him. "I just wanted to tell you, you really do matter to us. You really are our friend. I'm sorry if you don't feel like that."

"Well I don't," he answered bitterly. "The only reason I'm still here is because Sara asked me to stay until morning. I'm leaving as soon as the rest of the flock wakes up so she can say her goodbyes."

"Why, Nick?" I asked him, trying not to grow teary at the thought of losing my strongest soldier and closest- maybe second closest- friend. "You promised you'd never leave the flock."

"I made that promise to people that don't exist," he told me. "I made that promise to somebody I wanted to be with. I made that promise to somebody I believed would never stop loving me. Not to you. Now shut up and go to sleep."

Stunned, I stared at him as he rolled to his stomach and laid his head on top of his arms like a pillow. I laid myself back down, feeling even worse now. In the morning, we'd have to change his mind.

"No," I told him, realizing what I'd woken up or in the first place. "I know where we need to go." I clasped my hands together with a smack that woke up the remaining unconscious flock members.

"Come on," I said, rising to my feet. "Let's get to that institute."

"You know where we're headed?" Fang asked me, rubbing drowsiness out of his eyes and stifling a yawn.

"Yup," I told him, heading off in the direction the map that was burned into my retinas led me.

"I'm leaving," Nick grumbled, heading in the opposite direction.

"No way, buster," I said, grabbing him by his hood. "We've got you until midnight." He growled, but argued no further.

My mind wouldn't rest on just the institute, though. Before Nick had looked at me and blinked, his eyes were red. Not murderous phase red, though. It was like his eyes were supposed to be like that or something. But Nick's natural eye color was blue, wasn't it. Right.

Wasn't it?

3-3-3-3-3

I stirred slowly, instinctively checking for Sara at my side. She wasn't there. I tried to stand up, but I was being held to the floor by something. I struggled, but I couldn't move my arms or legs.

I heard nasty laughter coming from beside me, and my head rotated to see what the source was. The figure that approached had blonde hair, blue eyes, and tan skin, and he looked to be sixteen years old.

"Aw, crap," I muttered. "I got captured by a neo Nazi."

"You wish," the boy said to me. "If I were a Nazi, your death wouldn't be so painful."

"Psh. That would be my line," I said, before mustering all my strength to try and spring up from the floor.

"Ah-ah-ah," the boy said. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"And why's that?" I asked with a growl.

"We have somebody you might be interested in," he told me as a door opened behind him. "Namely, your little sister Sara." Two four year old African-American girls walked in holding my little girl an arm each.

"Let go of me!" Sara struggled to no avail as she was dragged to the boy who sat there.

"Here you go, Mister Cato," the two girls chorused before tossing her up into his outstretched arms.

"Oh, I just love little kids," he purred, making her shiver. "Well- I love to kill them, that is."

"No!" I shouted, going stone-still. "I'll stay. Leave her be."

"A fine choice," Cato said with a horrible jagged-toothed grin. He looked like a cat with those lines of teeth. Like a tiger.

"Striker," I breathed.

"Exactly, Nick," the sadistic teenager said to me. "However do you catch on so quickly?"

"What do you want?" I cut to the chase. "Tell me that."

"I want to kill you," he told me. "School's orders, you understand."

"How could you just take it in stride?" I asked incredulously.

"How could you take in stride killing hundreds upon hundreds of your brethren?" he countered. "My story is that I simply hate everybody but myself."

"Kind of like the old me," I said, trying to buy time. "Except I was indifferent."

"Yes, but I hated everybody," he told me. "I hate as much as your little ragtag band of mutants loves you."

"So, not at all?" I asked him. "They don't care about me."

"On the contrary," he continued. "I'm part of the expiration team. Work for the school. I know that they feel nothing but love for you. And you just spat in their faces." He snorted with laughter. "I love it! I could watch you break each other's hearts all day!"

"What?" I asked, astounded. Was he serious? I read his mind and found no trace of lie coming from him.

"If that were true," I told him defiantly, "They'd be here trying to rescue me right now."

"Wrong again," he told me with an evil grin. "They think you're with the. I've got two men posing as you and your little sibling keeping your clique company." He pressed a button an a little remote he had in his hand and a thin monitor slid out from the wall as two sections of the wall parted. The flock was walking with an exact copy of me and another one of Sara trailing behind them, scowling.

"We've watched you closely," Cato told me smugly. "We know that you were considering leaving before I told you the truth. And once midnight comes, my men will tell the flock that he's ready to leave, fly over here and be done with it.

"The flock'll never know you died here," Cato told me, wiping mock tears from his eyes. "Such a pity. If only you'd trusted them beforehand, you may've laid down close enough to the flock that we would've woken them up. Then again," he whispered maliciously, leaning down so that his face was parallel with mine. "We would've had to kill them, too." I stared at him with horror, and he snickered.

"Hard to accept, isn't it?" he asked me in a chuckle as he stood back upright.. "For the first time in six years, you're completely and utterly beaten by somebody who wants to kill you."

"You obviously haven't been watching very long," I snarled at him. "They nearly killed me at the hawk's cliff."

"Yes," he began condescendingly, "But the difference between them and I is that little 'nearly'."

"You dirtbag," I whispered venomously. "Cowering behind your hostage. You know I'd kill you if you didn't have her."

"And that's exactly why I have her," he told me in a 'duh' tone of voice. "It's called the game of life. The one with the upper hand usually wins unless the one with the lower hand has a trump card. And this is my trump card."

I looked over at Sara, who was struggling to get out of Cato's grip, and for a split second, her eyes were red and had pupils. But when she blinked, they reverted to their regular pale stage and the pupils disappeared.

"Don't tell me how to play my game," I told Cato as I caught on. I instantly mustered up all my strength and burst free of my bindings, leaping towards Cato.

"Crap!" He shouted as he realized his facade had been uncovered. He threw the fake Sara to his side and it morphed into a teenage Japanese boy with black hair and red eyes.

"Really oughta work that kink out, Camo," Cato growled as he blocked my oncoming punch with his arm.

"So right now," I said with realization, "A fake me is with the flock and Sara."

"That's right," Cato told me, latching onto the arm I'd punched him with and hurling me upwards forcefully. I winced as I flew upwards, straight through the ceiling and out into the cold night. It was snowing. Where in the world was I that it could be snowing?

"Antarctica," Cato said as he jumped up through the hole in his roof. "You aren't anywhere near your flock, and I'm not going to let you get any closer than you are right now."

"How did you get me here so fast?" I asked him, landing on his roof a few feet away from him.

"That's for me to know," he told me, morphing into his striker form as his head turned into that of a tigers and his hands were replaced by mitts as orange and black striped fur spread over his body. "And you to wonder."

I don't care what you're thinking  
>As you turn to me<br>Cos what I have in my two hands  
>Is enough to set me free<br>-Set me free-  
>He leapt at me, but the distance between us gave me plentiful time to dodge as I leapt upward. He landed directly under me as I tucked my knees in and then quickly and forcefully shot my legs out, giving him a double-foot stomp right to his head. He yowled briefly before snarling and reaching up to grab me, but I'd already used him as a springboard to get up into the air, far beyond his reach, extending my wings and flapping to stay aloft.<p>

"You can't touch me up here!" I shouted down at him.

"No," he agreed. "I have people to do that for me."

_What? _I barely had time to think before I tucked my wings in as tow arcs of fire curved around me. I turned around to see the two African-American girls waving their hands in the air, manipulating the fire. While I was watching them, they flames came back and struck me.

I could fight the feeling to resist it over time  
>But when it's just too much to take you sneak from behind<br>I let out a startled shout of pain as I fell from the sky, the fire somehow growing as it rested on my back, spreading across my body until my entirety was engulfed in flames. I rolled in the snow, trying to put the fire out, because it was hot! But it was to no avail, as they only grew higher and hotter. I couldn't breathe. Skin was burning off of me.

_I'm dying. I need to get rid of this fire. I need to redirect it._

_I need the power to manipulate fire if I am to live._

The flames instantly died as my skin regenerated rapidly and my singed clothes repaired themselves. Okay, I wasn't expecting it, but I'll take it. The typical burst od adrenaline I got every time I neared death came, and I stood up quickly. I held my fist up and upon opening my palm, created a small fireball.

_Electricity needs to be converted energy, but fire is limitless as long as there's oxygen. Wherever I can breathe, I can create fire._

Is it me, you said, you're looking for?  
>Let me show you who I am<br>And what I'm here for, here for  
>I smiled to myself at this thought and shot a controlled line of flame through the air. It shot upwards towards the two girls, who countered it with their own combined fire. I jumped and began flight once more, rolling through the air to gain speed and flapping rapidly.<p>

Within a couple seconds I'd reached them, quelling their flames and grabbing them both, one per hand. They squealed with surprise as I through them downwards, their bodies set aflame by my doing.

Try to reach inside of me  
>Try to drain my energy<br>Let me show you just  
>What I'm made of<br>Simple curiosity  
>Try to take a bite of me<br>Let me show you just  
>What I'm made of now<p>

They quickly recovered and extinguished the fire that had been set upon them. They seemed to be talking to each other. I didn't know what about. Suddenly, all the snow in the air started to move accumulate in one spot in front of me. It melted and then froze instantly, before breaking apart into hundreds of icicles.

Like a million faces  
>I've recognised them all<br>One by one they've all become  
>A number as they fall<br>-As they fall-

"Oh, crap!" I shouted, turning around and hightailing it out of there as fast as I could.

_Okay, think Nick, think!_

_What do you think I'm doing?_

_Okay, we've got ice, which is water._

_Yeah, and?  
>Is there oxygen in water?<em>

_... If fish can breathe in it, then I guess so._

_Exactly! So, how can you take advantage of this?_

I turned around and focused on every single one of the icicles, watching them melt from the inside out as I burned the oxygen inside of them.

_Well done, brain._

_Look out behind you._

_Wha- AGH!_

Only one of the twins had been conducting the icicles in my front, and the other had snuck up behind me an created more. They stabbed into me, leaving no place unharmed, and I fell from the sky once more. The icicles dripped with my blood. I was pretty sure some muscles had been torn.

In the face of reason  
>Oh I can't take no more<br>One by one they've all become  
>A black mark on the floor<p>

_I'm dying. I need to get rid of this ice. I need to redirect it. Ice is water._

_I need the power to manipulate all forms of water if I am to live._

The icicles melted as my body repaired itself from within, and an adrenaline surge brought me to my feet.

Is it me -Is it me?-  
>You said -You said?-<br>You're looking for?  
>Let me show you who I am<br>And what I have in store, in store

I scooped up some snow from the ground and hurled it towards the twins. It split into four parts midflight and hardened into icicles, each one trapping the twins by their shirts to the side of the house.

Try to reach inside of me  
>Try to drain my energy<br>Let me show you just  
>What I'm made of<br>Simple curiosity  
>Try to take a bite of me<br>Let me show you just  
>What I'm made of now<p>

They melted their respective prisons before putting their backs too each other, each facing away from me. They lined their arms that were facing me up with each other and made a pushing motion. Suddenly, I was thrown backwards through the air. I had no control over it, the wind was carrying me.

First fire, next ice, and now wind? These girls had power over the elements!

What they didn't realize, though, was that every time they tried killing me with a different element, they just gave me new abilities. I had the advantage, and I was foiling every trump card that was thrown at me. I couldn't lose to these girls.

I turned around to see where I was going to see Cato standing in my path. I let out a startled gasp and braced myself for impact with his waiting claws. Just before I was impaled on his hand, I stuck out my own two and grabbed his mitts. I began to push him backwards, seeing a cliff in the ice not far away. I could push him off it and be done with him.

However, he was morphed and he easily overpowered me, pushing me back towards a similar cliff. I morphed as quickly as I could, fur warming my body slightly as I pushed with more force. I began to slowly but surely force him towards the cliff behind him.

Suddenly, the twins materialized behind him and thrust their hands out. Wind pushed Cato in my direction, and he had the upper hand. He sneered at me with green feline eyes.

"Bye, kid," he said to me. "See you in the afterlife."

I needed strength. I needed it! I needed- the murderous phase.

My eyes went red and I roared, startling him. I instantly and effortlessly lifted him off the ground, throwing him off his cliff.

_You can control this Nick, don't let it control you!_

_It's a game. Everything is a game. And I play the murderous phase, it doesn't play me!_

I instantly overcame my anger, though my vision stayed a hazy red. A translucent red sphere of light surrounded me now.

"Well this is cool," I said to myself. My voice surprised me. It was my voice combined with one much lower. I was speaking with my voice and the animal that lived inside of me's voice.

"Two become one when powers collide," I said to myself. "Now, those girls."

"No way, kid," a voice said from behind me. I turned and to my surprise, saw Cato standing there.

"But-" I said with astonishment. "The cliff-"

"Fell off the sheer distance of five feet before I climbed back up," he told me. "I've spent too much time planning, too much time giving orders, too much time without satisfying my urge to kill to let you live today, Tundra."

The two twins appeared beside him, both looking frightened. They didn't want to serve him, I realized.

"Destroy him from the inside out," Cato told them harshly. "Make wind slice apart his organs, his bones, everything."

You can take another lifelong try  
>You can take another try<p>

They obeyed instantly, and I felt pain everywhere inside my body. Everything was being torn apart within me. I could feel it.

_I'm dying. I need to get rid of this wind. I need to redirect it._

_I need the power to manipulate wind if I am to live._

My body accomplished the astounding feat of restoring itself completely, and I went from dust to destroyer. I stood up and pushed Cato as forcefully as I could, adding wind for extra power. He went flying across the iceberg onto another one.

"Girls," I said, looking over to them. "Are you hurt?"

"N-No," they said, surprised that I would talk to them.

"He mistreats you, doesn't he?" I asked them. "He treats you like crap. He does that so that he can have power over you. You two can fly. He can't. You two can control the elements. He can't. He's afraid of you two. He knows you're stronger than him. Help me defeat him, please."

They stared at me in awe that I would even suggest such a thing. But they nodded eventually, sticking their hands out. I shook them graciously.

"Alright, here's the plan," I whispered to them. They both nodded, listening intently from start to finish.

It took him a few minutes, bounding from berg to berg, but Cato eventually arrived.

Try to reach inside of me  
>Try to drain my energy<br>Let me show you just  
>What I'm made of<br>Simple curiosity  
>Try to take a bite of me<br>Let me show you just  
>What I'm made of now<p>

"NOW!" I shouted, preparing myself for my part.

One of the twins controlled wind behind Cato, bringing him towards me. The other brought ice out of the water and encased the startled striker (alliteration) inside of it before hurling it into the air. All the while, I concentrated fire in my hands, creating a fireball large enough to melt any one of the icebergs in this area, and melting some around us at the time, and compressed all of the fire into a sphere about the size of my hand. I jumped high up, up, up into the air, flapping my wings to gain height, and shoved the fire ball in my hand straight into the ice-encased Cato, melting the ice and him along with it, and the fireball exploded to its full size. It then flew up out of the atmosphere of the planet, hurling whatever was left of Cato into space.

Yeah, try to reach inside of me -Show you what I'm made of-

Try to drain my energy -Show you what I'm made of-  
>Let me show you just -Show you what I'm made of-<br>What I'm made of

I fell from the sky, using my wings to slow my descent, landing next to the twins before I demorphed out of my murderous phase and eraser form.

"Thanks," I said. "Couldn't have done it without you."

"You're welcome," they said simultaneously.

"I'm Kiki, this is Kimmy."

"I'm Kimmy, this is Kiki."

"Kiki," I pointed to one, "And Kimmy," I pointed to the other.

"Yup!" they told me.

"Nick Tundra," I said, smiling.

"Cato Striker," a voice said behind me. I turned around and saw a very angry looking Cato.

Aw, come on!

"I hate little kids," he said, limping his way in our direction. "I especially hate little traitors."

"New plan!" I said, running up to him and grabbing his shoulders. "Gorgon eye!" I froze him in place by looking him in the eye and then encased him in ice before dropping him off into the water.

"Finally," I breathed. "I thought he'd never go down."

"Where are we going now?" Kiki asked.

"The flock," I whispered. "The flock! We'll never get from here to Manhattan in time!"

"Sure we will," Kimmy said. "Just use the teleporter we used!"

"So that's how you got there and back so fast," I mused, following them back to the house.

3-3-3-3-3

Crush 40: What I'm Made Of


	30. Chapter 30

Theanimedude: Well, here we are, the final chapter.

Nick: What? No way.

Fang: You never finish anything. How could we be on the last chapter?

Theanimedude: I know, right? Anyways, this is only the first installment of the Nick The Eraser saga. We're nowhere near done.

Nick: Yay! More of me!

Fang: You can't be serious.

Theanimedude: But I never finish anything, so maybe it'll stop short.

Nick: If you want to see more of me, keep them doggies rollin, REVIEW!

Theanimedude: Roll em in, REVIEW!

Nick: Theanimedude owns Sara and I. He also owns Camo and Espio. The original ideas for characters Cato, Kimmy and Kiki were supplied by Pennycat11. The following is a fan-based parody. Maximum Ride and all its respecting characters and titles belong to James Patterson. Please support the official release.

Theanimedude: From now on, whoever is voted into these author's notes will be the one to say that. Anyways, the thirtieth and final chapter of Nick the Eraser: The Angel Experiment begins NOW!

Nick the Eraser chapter 30

"Midnight," Nick said as he grabbed Gazzy's arm and looked at his watch. "I'm off."

He released Gazzy and turned to fly away, Sara right next to him when Fang grabbed his arm.

"You're serious?" he asked the back of his head, as he refused to turn around. "Look, I know some things have happened, and we're sorry. That time we beat you to a pulp, quote on quote, you'd gone murderous. When I attacked you, you kind of goaded me into it. They let you be dragged away by the erasers and... whatever those were because they were worried about me and they knew you'd be fine. And we acted like we weren't worried because we knew you were strong enough to be insulted if we asked you if you were alright. That's what we thought, at least. Don't leave over this, please. None of us want you to leave. We all care about you."

I stared at him, stunned. That had been the biggest speech I'd ever heard from him, and he'd said everything I wanted to say. Nick seemed to soften for a second, but became stone cold once more.

"I did," he said, still not turning. "Not anymore, though."

"Do you hate us or something?" I asked him.

"No, I just don't care about you," he retorted.

"Why not?" Fang asked him. "Because of... you know what?"

"If you'll let go of me and never speak to me again, I'll say yes," Nick told him. "But if you keep holding me here, I'll say no."

"Which one's the lie?" Fang pressed on. Nick turned around sharply, his eyes glowing red.

"If you do not let go of me," he growled, "I will throw you into the campfire and watch you burn."

"Try it," I said, stepping up behind Fang. "I know you care about all of us. We care about you, so you can't not care."

"Well I don't care, so shut up and let go of me!" Nick said, prying his arm out of Fang's grip and taking off quickly, Sara trudging behind him.

"Nick!" I shouted, thinking about flying after him, but Fang's hand stopped me.

"If we drag him back he'll just wait until we're asleep to fly away again," he told me. "We can't change his mind. Only he can do that."

We watched sadly him as he flew away, and Angel walked up to me and put her hand in mine.

"I'm gonna miss them," she told me.

"Did he really think all that?" I asked her. "Does he really not care about us?"

"He really doesn't care," she confirmed, nodding her head as she grew teary. "I still miss him."

"He was wrong," I said to the whole flock as we watched the last glimpse of him go. "He had us, the real us. He really did lose us just now. And we've really lost him." I turned, trying not to let sadness overcome me as I hugged Gazzy.

"Max, he whispered as my head went to his shoulder. "What's that red light?"

I turned around and looked where he was pointing to see a small red light in the air coming towards us. There was a silhouette being carried by said light, and if I squinted I could make it out.

"Nick," I breathed as the light sped rapidly towards us. The light abruptly stopped and Nick flew out of it, landing and skidding a couple feet before skidding to a complete stop. I stared, dumbfounded, at the red light in front of us.

"Who are you?" Nick asked it, glaring towards it. "What do you want from me?"

"**You know**," the red light said in Nick's voice, but it sounded like two voices at once- one low and demonic, the other Nick's. "**They say mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery**."

"**But," **the red light said as it disappeared, leaving a lone figure in its place. "Something about you makes me feel really... beside myself."

"Nick," we said in a collective whisper.

"Don't be stupid!" The first Nick said, standing up and glowering at us. "You know who I am, now who are you?"

"I do know who you are," Nick number 2 said. "Espio Nage Blender of the Expiration Team. You're brothers with Camo Flauge Blender, right?"

Nick number one looked at number two with a startled expression before shaking his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said. "Maybe saying I'm you and you're me to hold up your little routine?"

"**Don't play games with me!" **Nick number two shouted as the red light framed him and he lunged for his doppelganger. He grabbed the boy and he was suddenly set aflame, screaming with startled pain and falling out of Nick 2's grasp. When the flames died down, in his place was a black-haired Japanese boy about my age.

"What is going on here?" I asked incredulously. "He was a fake?"

"**Bingo," **Nick said in a much softer tone of voice.** "His job was to impersonate me and lead you to believe that I wanted to leave the flock while his boss tried to kill me. His boss has been dealt with now, and I'm here, so his mission is pretty much a failure."**

It was... cool. He looked intimidating with his eyes red and his body coated with the red light, but he was speaking to me in such a gentle way. It was like he was a cartoon character or something, kind and gentle when amongst friends, and yet cold and demanding when amongst enemies.

Am I a poet, or what?

"I'm surprised," Espio said as he stood up. "You managed to break free of Cato. What of my brother? Did he fail in his assignment as well?"

"Yup," Nick said as the red light coating him died and his voice went solo once again. "He should be with Kiki and Kimmy on their way here right now."

"Who?" I asked as four people touched down next to us. One of which was Sara, two were four-year-old African-American girls, and the last one was an exact copy of Espio.

"So we were with a fake Nick all along?" Sara asked the two twin girls beside her. "Since when?"

"Since last night," the two chorused, giggling afterward at their simultaneousness.

"So all that not caring about us crap was coming from you?" Fang asked furiously, whipping around and glaring at Espio.

"Is that not obvious from what you have heard from the surrounding people, Fang?" Espio asked with no hint of emotion.

"Not all of it," Nick said honestly, and we turned back over to him. "I'm sorry. I blew things was out of proportion. I really do love you guys. And I'm sorry for making you feel like I didn't care."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say: Ditto," I told him, looking into his eyes sadly.

"We really do love you. And we're sorry if we ever made you feel like that was something you had to earn."

We ran towards each other, Nick and I, and he hugged me so close to him it was almost hard to breathe.

"I love you like a sister," he told me in a choked voice. "I almost lost that because I was being stupid. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," I told him, normally hating being hugged, but knowing that this moment was important. "We're glad to have you back."

"See," Sara said, walking up behind Nick. "I told ya."

"That you did," Nick said as he let go of me. "I should've listened."

"What do we do with them?" Fang asked, pointing to the Japanese twins and the African-American twins.

"I was hoping we could actually bring them along," Nick said, turning to Fang. Nobody spoke.

"These two," Nick said, pointing to the two African-American twins. "Kiki, and Kimmy, gave me a run for my money, and look at how young they are! That takes skill. They'd be great to have around."

"And these two," Nick said, pointing to the two Japanese twins, "Espio, and Camo are both capable of shape-shifting and swift, stealthy movement. Great to have around as well."

"And how do we know they won't wind up killing us?" Fang asked suspiciously.

"Fang," Nick said, turning back to him. "You're forgetting. We have three mind-readers with us already. If they decide to backstab us," he paused before suddenly recloaking himself in red light as his eyes once again became a demonic shade of crimson.

"**I can personally send them to the deepest bowels of hell!" **he shouted threateningly before he went back to normal.

"Kay?" he said, smiling brightly.

"Yeah," Fang said, nodding slowly and uncomfortably.

"So, are they in?" Nick asked, looking to me for answers. I looked around to the flock, seeing them look hopefully at the strange new group.

"Sure," I said with a shrug. "Why not?" the flock cheered as the four newcomers created new places for themselves to sleep on the ground next to our campfire.

Later that night, when everybody else was asleep, I stood at the top of a building nearby, staring out at the city on my watch.

"Hey," Nick said from behind me, walking over to me. I turned around and threw my arms around him.

"Don't you ever leave us again," I told him quietly, leaning my head on his shoulder. "You hear me?"

"Loud and clear, sis," he told me, hugging me back under the starlit sky.


End file.
